Talen Energy on July 17 announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Caithness Energy’s Moxie Freedom Energy Center in Pennsylvania and Caithness Energy and BlackRock’s Guernsey Power Station in Ohio, both combined-cycle gas-fired plants located within the PJM Interconnection power market.
The Caithness Moxie Freedom Generating Station in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania generates more than 1,000 megawatts of electric power, while the Guernsey Power Station is a 1,875 megawatt plant located in southern Guernsey County in Southeastern Ohio.
The net acquisition price is $3.5 billion after adjusting for estimated tax benefits, or approximately $3.8 billion gross.
The net purchase price reflects an attractive acquisition multiple of 6.7x 2026 EV/EBITDA for two of the most efficient natural gas plants in PJM, at a material discount to current new-build CCGT costs, the company said.
“This acquisition enhances Talen’s fleet by selectively adding modern, highly efficient baseload H-class CCGTs in Talen’s key markets, where we are an innovator in data center contracting,” said Mac McFarland, Talen President and Chief Executive Officer. “The transaction is immediately and highly accretive, maintains our balance sheet discipline, and adds more than the equivalent of another Susquehanna nuclear plant to our platform, further enabling large load service."
Talen said that the highly efficient plants add both baseload generation and cash flow diversification. The plants have an average heat rate of 6,550 Btu/kWh. Their highly efficient dispatch profile results in significant energy margin and strong cash flow conversion and increases our annual generation by 50% from approximately 40 TWh to 60 TWh, it said.
The plants benefit from an advantaged location and reliable access to gas pipeline infrastructure from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, with their rich natural gas reserves and interconnects to primary natural gas pipelines, Talen said.
The addition of the facilities to Talen’s portfolio "enhances Talen’s ability to offer reliable, scalable, grid-supported and regionally diverse low-carbon capacity to hyperscale data centers and large commercial off-takers. With greater operational flexibility, proximity to key load pockets, and proven track record in bilateral contracting, the proforma company will be well positioned to meet the evolving needs of high-growth, 24/7 power demand sectors," it said.
Talen expects to issue approximately $3.8 billion in new debt to fund the acquisitions and refinance target debt, using both secured and unsecured instruments.
The Moxie and Guernsey transactions are both expected to close in Q4 2025.
Each transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino act, and regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory agencies.
As part of the transaction, Talen is also acquiring the equity interests in Guernsey owned by the mid-market infrastructure funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock.
