Shares of Talen Energy soared 17 percent Friday after announcing it was being acquired by Riverstone Holdings, a private energy investment firm.
Riverstone will pay $1.8 billion, or $14 a share — or a 17.3 percent premium to Talen's closing price on Thursday — to buy the remaining 65 percent stake in Talen it does not own. The private equity firm held a 35 percent stake in Talen as of March 31, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission.
That said, the agreement between the two parties includes a "go-shop" period, where Talen can actively seek a better offer from a third party for 40 days.
"We believe the transaction offers compelling value to our stockholders, while eliminating execution risk, and will provide additional momentum to the outstanding work our employees have done to drive improvements in the safety, reliability and efficiency of our plants in the time since we became an independent company," Paul Farr, Talen's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Entering Friday's session, Talen's stock had skyrocketed for 2016, rising more than 124 percent.
TLN year to date