BlackRock-Led Consortium to Buy AES for $10.7B

A consortium led by BlackRock and EQT, along with California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Qatar Investment Authority, announced a $10.7 billion bid to acquire AES Corporation. The deal is framed as another private equity move into regulated utilities.

PESP argues the transaction could increase consumer rate pressure and slow the clean energy transition, citing a target annual gross return of 15–20% for the fund BlackRock plans to use. AES operates utilities in Indiana and Ohio and in El Salvador, and it also has power plants across multiple countries, including Puerto Rico and Chile.