According to informed sources, NextEra Energy is in discussions regarding a transaction, primarily structured with stock, to acquire Dominion Resources. The deal values Dominion Resources at approximately $76 per share, with a total value around $66 billion, which would mark the largest power sector transaction on record. The sources indicated that NextEra Energy could announce the deal as early as Monday, proposing an exchange of roughly 0.8 NextEra shares for each outstanding Dominion share. As the details are not yet public, the individuals requested anonymity. They noted that NextEra plans to fund the acquisition mainly with stock but will include a small cash component. The sources added that NextEra shareholders would own about 75% of the combined entity. Data shows that including debt, the enterprise value of the deal for Dominion Resources is approximately $116 billion. This would make it the largest pure merger and acquisition transaction of 2026, excluding the SpaceX and xAI merger valued at $250 billion. The sources also mentioned that no final decision has been made, negotiations could still fall apart, or the timing could change. Representatives for NextEra and Dominion did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The scale and scope of this potential deal highlight how unprecedented electricity demand is driving a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the once-stagnant power sector, which is highly fragmented and heavily regulated. The ultimate driver behind this potential mega-merger is the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom in recent years and the "insatiable" demand for power from tech giants. Dominion's primary service territory is in Virginia, a region at the heart of the AI gold rush as the world's densest and largest data center hub. According to the latest forecast from regional grid operator PJM, driven by massive AI infrastructure construction by tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google, Virginia's peak summer electricity load is projected to grow explosively at an annual rate exceeding 5% over the next decade. This acquisition would allow NextEra, which has a relatively shallow footprint in the PJM Interconnection (the largest U.S. grid), to directly secure a core energy artery of the AI era, achieving a perfect complement of resource portfolios. Capital markets and Wall Street analysts reacted swiftly and divergently to this news. Wells Fargo issued a report raising its target price for Dominion and reaffirming its "Overweight" rating, directly reflecting market optimism about the premium acquisition. However, on various financial forums, NextEra shareholders widely expressed concern and even opposition. Many institutional and retail investors holding NextEra stock believe that a financing model primarily reliant on issuing new shares would severely dilute existing shareholder equity. Additionally, with both companies currently carrying significant debt, the "strong alliance" might conceal risks of an asset bubble, suggesting the buyer may be overpaying. Meanwhile, the negotiations between these two companies also indicate that dealmakers from the Trump era are considering mergers that might have been unthinkable under previous administrations, which often opposed large transactions in regulated markets. In Friday's New York trading, Dominion's stock fell nearly 2%, closing at $61.73, giving the Richmond, Virginia-based company a market capitalization of approximately $54 billion. NextEra, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, saw its stock fall 2.4%, closing at $93.36, with a market cap of about $195 billion.
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