CDPQ Acquires $546M Stake in Ohio Electric Utility
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec on Monday announced an agreement with power and utility company AES Corp. to acquire a 30% stake in AES Ohio. The $546 million indirect equity investment will close in the first half of 2025, pending regulatory approval.
AES Ohio, a subsidiary of the Dayton Power and Light Co., part of the AES Corp., provides electric utilities to more than 527,000 customers in west central Ohio.
As part of the deal, CDPQ will commit to funding AES Ohio’s near-term capital requirements to support the utility company’s growth plans. From 2024 to 2027, the company plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in its transmission infrastructure.
“We have a successful track record of incorporating strategic partners into our businesses in support of our growth initiatives,” said Andrés Gluski, president and CEO of AES, in a statement. “CDPQ has been a long-term partner to AES and this transaction marks another strong step forward for AES Ohio, enabling the increased capital investments needed to support our customers’ growing needs.”
The utility also expects demand from data centers to increase peak load on its systems by more than 50% by the end of the decade and sees the potential for more investments in its infrastructure to service that demand. CDPQ’s support of the company’s near-term capital requirements will also include opportunities stemming from data center growth.
When the transaction closes, AES Ohio will have met $2.7 billion out of $3.5 billion of its planned asset sales target for the period running from 2023 through 2027.
CDPQ manages C$452.1 billion in assets and has more than 2.2 million beneficiaries.
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