Vistra Buying US Gas-Power Fleet for $4 Billion to Deepen AI Bet
(Bloomberg) -- Vistra Corp. agreed to pay roughly $4 billion for 10 natural gas-fired power plants in the US Northeast and Texas to expand the electricity supplier’s generation capacity in fast-growing energy markets.
The generators were purchased from Cogentrix Energy, which is indirectly owned by funds managed by Quantum Capital Group, according to a statement Monday. The acquisition includes assets with a total capacity of 5.5 gigawatts on three major US grids — New England, Texas and the system that spans New Jersey to Chicago.
Vistra’s shares climbed as much as 6.6% in late trading Monday.
Power providers are increasing their portfolios of power assets — and gas-fired plants in particular — to meet surging demand from electricity-hungry data centers.
The artificial intelligence boom has triggered a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the historically volatile independent power sector by spurring unprecedented demand growth. In response, investors have been bidding up power stocks as if they were tech giants.
Vistra has been on a buying spree since the $6.8 billion acquisition of a nuclear fleet in 2024 and the $1.9 billion purchase of seven gas plants in May. Rivals like NRG Energy and Constellation Energy Group also have been snapping up gas-fueled units in multibillion-dollar deals in recent months.
Gas plants are seen as ideal sources for around-the-clock data center demand. One challenge, however, is that the cost of building big new gas plants has more than doubled and new turbine orders won’t get delivered until at least 2030.
Vistra said it paid about $730 per kilowatt for the 10 generators owned by Cognetrix, which is slightly less than the $743 paid for seven plants last year. That’s about one-third the average cost for a new gas power plant, according to November 2025 report by BloombergNEF.
Vistra expects to close its latest purchase this year, pending federal and certain state regulatory approvals. Goldman Sachs & Co served as financial advisor and agreed to provide up to $2 billion in bridge loans. Evercore served as financial adviser to Cogentrix.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
