With wind farm operations in Oklahoma, NextEra Energy is expanding its energy-production with a $6.475 billion purchase of a utility and other Florida assets from Southern Co.
At least $5.1 billion is cash in a deal that allows the most valuable power company in the country to grow even more.
NextEra is buying Gulf Power, gas utility Florida City Gas and its interests in the Oleander and Stanton natural gas plants. The purchase also means NextEra will assume $1.4 billion of Gulf Power’s debt.
Last year, NextEra attempted to purchase Texas-based Oncor but was rejected. It also failed in 2015 to buy Hawaiian Electric.
In February, NextEra Energy Partners LP announced it had acquired 299.2 megawatts of wind power capacity in Oklahoma from its sponsor NextEra Energy Resources LLC. The Seiling I and II wind energy centers in Dewey and Woodward counties were bought in the $323 million deal. NextEra Energy Partners also assumed nearly $200 million in tax equity financing.