Florida-headquartered NextEra Energy, one of the largest U.S. power utilities, is set to buy Virginia-based Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion.
The companies announced the deal on May 18, one day after several outlets including POWER reported the energy groups were discussing an agreement to create a utility giant that would have assets from coast to coast
The purchase will create the largest regulated electric utility in the world. Analysts have said the deal is tied to NextEra’s goal of being a leading player in supplying power for the energy-intensive data center sector. Dominion, with four million customers in Virginia and the Carolinas, is the utility currently most closely tied to providing electricity for the so-called “Data Center Alley” of Loudon County, Virginia.
NextEra’s market cap of $195 million makes it the largest U.S. utility by valuation, almost twice as much as Southern Co., the next-largest utility, which has a market cap of about $104 billion. NextEra also is the biggest renewable energy developer in the U.S. The company includes a regulated utility serving about six million customers in Florida.