NextEra Energy Made Takeover Approach to Duke Energy

By Cara Lombardo, Maureen Farrell and Dana Cimilluca

NextEra Energy Inc. recently made a takeover approach to Duke Energy Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, testing the waters for what would be a $60 billion-plus combination of two southern utilities.

Duke rebuffed the approach but NextEra is still interested in pursuing a deal, some of the people said. There is no guarantee NextEra will do so and if it does, that a deal would result.

Should there be one, it would be big. Duke, based in Charlotte, N.C., has a market value of roughly $61 billion following a 14% decline in its share price this year, and an acquisition of the company could be the largest utility deal ever and the biggest merger so far this year.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com, Maureen Farrell at maureen.farrell@wsj.com and Dana Cimilluca at dana.cimilluca@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2020 19:41 ET (23:41 GMT)

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024