Report: AES to acquire DPL for $3.5 billion

SUBNET Solutions Inc | Wednesday, April 20, 2011

According to reports, energy producer AES will acquire DPL, parent company of Dayton Power & Light, for $3.5 billion, and will take on DPL's $1.2 billion debt.

AES officials referred to DPL's presence in the utility market - an area AES had been wanting to target - when discussing the acquisition.

"We are concentrating our growth efforts in a few key markets, including the U.S. utility sector," said Paul Hanrahan, head of AES. Hanrahan further stated that purchasing DPL will enhance his company's “regional scale provided by our nearby utility business at Indianapolis Power & Light Company.”

AES, based in Arlington, Virginia, currently generated 40.5 gigawatts of capacity and services 11.5 million customers. DPL, on the other hand, produces a power generation capacity of close to 3.8 gigawatts, 2.8 gigwatts of which are generated by its coal-fired units. The Ohio-based company's customer base is roughly half a million.

Officials expect the deal to be finalized within six to nine months, pending the approval of DPL's shareholders as well as federal authorities.

Once the deal is official, however, it will be the second large-scale utility deal during 2011, after Duke Energy acquired Progress Energy for $13.7 billion earlier this year.

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