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The parent company of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Salem Township has been approved for acquisition by a private investment firm.
According to a press release from Talen Energy, which owns the power plant, a special meeting of stockholders approved the proposed merger of Talen Energy and Riverstone Holdings LLC.
As a result of the merger, stockholders will receive a cash consideration of $14 a share of Talen’s stock.
Results of the vote will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Oct. 13, the release said.
Talen Energy was formed from PPL Corporation’s spin off of generating assets in 2015. During the spinoff, Riverstone’s employees owned near 35 percent of Talen’s stock.
Previous Times Leader reports indicate Riverstone will buy the remaining stake in Talen Energy at $1.8 billion. The financing for the acquisition is a combination of Riverstone’s cash on hand, the existing stock ownership of Talen Energy by Riverstone and a $250 million loan. The value of the transaction is estimated at $5.2 billion.
Talen owns 23 plants spanning eight states, with the majority of them natural gas. The Salem Township plant is the only nuclear power plant owned by Talen.
As of the market’s close Thursday, Talen Energy stock was $13.87, down three cents from Wednesday.
Riverstone’s website stated the company was founded in 2000 and has offices in New York, London, Houston and Mexico City. The company has had close to $30 billion in more than 120 investments across five continents.
According to the release, the acquisition is still “on schedule to close” by the end of 2016.
As part of the restructuring of the companies, Talen announced in June it will lay off more than 130 excess workers at three plants and an office in Allentown. Fifty-three people will be laid off at Susquehanna during this round of cuts.