Investment firm paying 5.2B for power company with N.J. holdings

An Allentown-based energy and power generation company with extensive assets in New Jersey is being acquired by a private investment firm, it announced recently.Riverstone Holdings LLC, through affiliates, is paying approximately $5.2 billion for Talen Energy Corporation. The deal would see Riverstone acquire Talen’s outstanding common shares for $14 apiece in cash; Riverstone affiliates already own about 35 percent of Talen’s shares.

Talen has natural gas and oil assets in Bayonne, Camden, Elmwood Park, Newark Bay and Pedricktown, the company said. It owns or controls 16,000 megawatts of capacity in eight states overall.

“We believe the transaction offers compelling value to our stockholders, while eliminating execution risk, and will provide additional momentum to the outstanding work our employees have done to drive improvements in the safety, reliability and efficiency of our plants in the time since we became an independent company,” Paul Farr, Talen’s CEO and president, said in a prepared statement.

The transaction is expected to be completed by year-end, pending customary conditions and approvals, as well as a superior-offer period.

Citi is serving as Talen’s financial adviser, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as its legal adviser.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and RBC Capital Markets are serving as Riverstone’s financial advisers, while Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Vinson & Elkins LLP are serving as its legal advisers.