Power company AES buying DPL for $3.5 billion

[April 20, 2011]  DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Power company AES Corp. is buying DPL Inc. for $3.5 billion in cash, accelerating the consolidation of an industry that is already well under way.

AES said Wednesday that it will pay about $30 per share for the regional energy company based in Ohio, which is an 8.7 percent premium to DPL's closing stock price of $27.59.

There have been a number of major buyouts by utilities so that they can better comply with looming, and costly, environmental regulations.

Subsidiary Dayton Power and Light Co. will keep its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio for at least two years after the transaction. AES is based in Arlington, Va.

DPL's annual shareholders meeting, set for April 27, has been postponed.

[Associated Press]

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