Regulators approve disputed $6.2B takeover of Minnesota Power by
investment group
[October 04, 2025] By
STEVE KARNOWSKI and MARC LEVY
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota regulators voted unanimously Friday to
approve an investment group's takeover of a power company over the
objections of the state attorney general, big industrial electricity
buyers and consumer advocates.
In voting for the takeover of Duluth-based Minnesota, the five members
of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission said they believe the
conditions imposed on the deal will protect the public interest and
shield customers from rate increases. Opponents warned that the private
equity group is only interested in squeezing bigger profits from regular
ratepayers.
The approval came as electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S.,
and growing evidence suggests the bills of some residential customers
are increasing to subsidize the rapid build-out of power plants and
power lines to supply the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech’s data
centers and the boom in artificial intelligence.
Raising the stakes is the potential that Google could build a data
center in Minnesota Power’s territory in the northern part of the state,
a lucrative prospect for the utility's owner.
Opponents also expressed fear that the sale would encourage more such
deals across the U.S.
Under the planned buyout, a BlackRock subsidiary and the Canada Pension
Plan Investment Board will take over the publicly traded company Allete,
parent of Minnesota Power, which provides power to 150,000 customers and
owns a variety of power sources, including coal, gas, wind and solar.
The buyout price is $6.2 billion, including $67 a share for stockholders
at a 19% premium, and assuming $2.3 billion in debt. In its petition,
Allete told regulators that Minnesota Power’s operations, strategy and
values wouldn’t change under BlackRock and that the deal’s cost wouldn't
affect electric rates.
Building trades unions and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tim
Walz, who appointed or reappointed all five of the utility
commissioners, sided with Allete and BlackRock.
The state Department of Commerce, Minnesota Power and the investors
negotiated a package of modifications this summer that included
additional financial and regulatory safeguards. The department's
attorney, Richard Dornfeld, told the commission the changes will protect
the public interest.
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Allete and Minnesota Power headquarters in Duluth, Minn., is shown
in 2024. (Brooks Johnson/Star Tribune via AP)
The commission's chair, Katie Sieben, agreed.
“Because of the collective work of partners, stakeholders, labor,
environmental groups and others, we’ve made the overall package better
for Minnesota Power customers,” Sieben said.
Opposing the deal were the state attorney general’s office and
industrial interests that buy two-thirds of Minnesota Power’s
electricity, including U.S. Steel and other iron mine owners,
Enbridge-run oil pipelines, and pulp and paper mills.
Allete argued that BlackRock will have an easier time raising the money
that Minnesota Power needs to comply with a state law requiring
utilities to get 100% of their electricity from carbon-free sources by
2040.
Previously, an administrative law judge recommended that the commission
reject the deal, saying that the evidence revealed the buyout group’s
“intent to do what private equity is expected to do — pursue profit in
excess of public markets through company control.”
Commissioner Audrey Partridge said she started with “a high degree of
skepticism and I would say even cynicism,” and “assumed the absolute
worst in these investors.” But she said the added safeguards, and the
over $100 million that the investors will provide for relief for
ratepayers and investments in clean energy, will protect the public
interest.
Opponents said they were dismayed by the approval.
“Private equity ownership of Minnesota Power will likely mean higher
bills, less accountability, and more risk for Minnesotans," Alissa Jean
Schafer, climate and energy director at the Private Equity Stakeholder
Project, said in a statement. The national nonprofit says it seeks to
bring transparency and accountability to the private equity industry.
___
Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
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