A consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and EQT AB has agreed to acquire AES Corporation for $33.4 billion, including debt, in a strategic take-private transaction driven by the demand for power assets for AI and data centers.
Counterparts (9)
Investor
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)
company · 2 deals
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is a global investment organization established in 2005 to protect and grow Qatar’s financial assets and diversify the economy. QIA invests across major global markets, asset classes, sectors, and geographies with a focus on long-term responsible investment.
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
company
CalPERS is a large public pension fund that invests globally across various asset classes, including a significant allocation to infrastructure. Its infrastructure strategy focuses on long-term, stable returns from essential assets, often through direct investments, co-investments, and commitments to infrastructure funds, targeting sectors like transport, utilities, digital infrastructure, and renewable energy.
Buyer
Global Infrastructure Partners
company
Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is a leading independent infrastructure fund manager specializing in large-scale equity investments in critical infrastructure assets. The firm focuses on high-quality assets across the energy, transport, digital, and water/waste sectors, aiming for long-term value creation through active operational management and strategic growth initiatives.
California Public Employees’ Retirement System
company
CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the U.S., investing globally across various asset classes, including infrastructure. Its infrastructure strategy focuses on long-term, stable returns, inflation protection, and diversification, primarily through commitments to large, diversified infrastructure funds and direct co-investments.
E
B
BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)
company
EQT
company · 4 deals
EQT is an investment organization committed to creating value by finding good companies and helping them become the most promising builders of tomorrow. With a global presence, they take responsibility for shaping a brighter future, believing that doing good is good business.
Qatar Investment Authority
company
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, established to diversify the nation's economy and invest its surplus revenues globally. It pursues a long-term investment strategy across a broad range of asset classes, including public and private equity, real estate, and alternative investments, with a significant focus on infrastructure, technology, and sustainable energy transition projects worldwide.
Deal Analysis
A consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and EQT AB has announced a significant take-private acquisition of AES Corporation for $33.4 billion, including debt. This substantial transaction, involving major institutional investors such as the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), underscores the robust appetite for large-scale utilities assets among global infrastructure funds and sovereign wealth funds. The deal highlights the strategic importance placed on securing and transforming critical power infrastructure by leading players in the investment landscape.
The acquisition is explicitly driven by the escalating demand for power assets, particularly to support the rapid expansion of AI and data centers. AES Corporation, a global power company actively transforming its portfolio towards sustainable energy, presents an attractive target given its existing infrastructure and potential for further modernization. This transaction reflects a broader trend within the utilities sector, where established power generation and distribution companies are becoming increasingly valuable as foundational assets for the digital economy, attracting significant capital from investors seeking long-term, stable returns and exposure to high-growth technological demands.
- $33.4 billion take-private acquisition of AES Corporation, including debt.
- Consortium led by BlackRock’s GIP and EQT AB, involving major institutional investors like QIA and CalPERS.
- Strategic rationale explicitly tied to the demand for power assets for AI and data centers.
- AES Corporation is a global power company actively transforming its portfolio towards sustainable energy.
Source Intelligence
KEY DETAILS
The acquisition represents a 40.3% premium to AES’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price prior to July 8, 2025—the last trading day before initial media reports of a potential sale surfaced. The consortium plans to take AES private. The deal values AES at $15 per share in cash. AES shares plummeted over 17% in pre-market trading on March 2, dropping to around $14.41 from a Friday close of $17.28. Analysts had pegged targets around $16.18.
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Deal Size
This deal values AES at a total equity of $10.7 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $33.4 billion, including the assumption of existing debt.
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Location
AES, a major player in the global energy landscape, operates a diverse portfolio of renewable generation assets including wind and solar, alongside natural gas, coal, and utilities in Indiana and Ohio.
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PPA Details
The company has positioned itself as a key supplier of clean energy to hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon
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Financials
This deal values AES at a total equity of $10.7 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $33.4 billion, including the assumption of existing debt.
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Announcement
The announcement, made on March 2, 2026
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Expected Close
The transaction is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027, pending regulatory approvals.
PARTIES MENTIONED IN SOURCE
B
BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)
buyer
"a consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Swedish private equity firm EQT AB has agreed to acquire AES Corporation"
E
EQT AB
buyer
"a consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Swedish private equity firm EQT AB has agreed to acquire AES Corporation"
A
AES Corporation
seller
"a consortium led by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Swedish private equity firm EQT AB has agreed to acquire AES Corporation"
C
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
investor
"The consortium, which includes co-investors like the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), plans to take AES private."
Q
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)
investor
"The consortium, which includes co-investors like the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), plans to take AES private."
high quality
Enriched Mar 4, 2026
Global Infrastructure Sherpa