Continuing the trend of making big bets, Vistra has announced their acquisition of a clean energy portfolio to-be from Lotus Infrastructure Partners. This agreement includes five CC GT facilities and two CT facilities. The combined purchase price for these assets is $1.9 billion. The valuation represents roughly seven times their expected adjusted EBITDA in 2026, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. This strategic acquisition strengthens Vistra’s operational platform. It further responds to the growing demand for electricity in some of the largest markets.
Impact Vistra’s purchase includes nine facilities that are strategically located in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland interconnection. They’ve been active in New England, New York and California. This varied landscape of geographical distribution helps Company to better meet regional energy demands while maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of its generation fleet. We anticipate closing the deal by late 2025/early 2026. This aggressive timeline is conditional upon Town Meeting approval and receipt of required regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Justice. The acquisition is structured to meet the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
With respect to the financial strategy for this acquisition, the consideration at closing will be funded with a term loan anticipated to fund 50% of the closing consideration. On September 26, 2024, Vistra announced the definitive agreements for this acquisition. This laid the groundwork for the company’s future hyper growth.
Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, expressed confidence in the acquisition, stating, “We believe natural gas-fired generation will continue to play an ever-increasing role in the reliability, affordability and flexibility of US power grids for years to come. The addition of this attractive portfolio of combined cycle and peaking assets allows Vistra to serve growing power demand while exceeding our mid-teens levered return target.”
Himanshu Saxena, chairman and CEO of Lotus Infrastructure Partners, commented on the transaction, saying, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to sell this gas plant portfolio to a proven operator like Vistra. The Lotus team has acquired, developed and operated this portfolio of high-quality assets for many years, which has helped us deliver this win-win transaction for our investors.”