06:28 AM EDT, 07/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Talen Energy ( TLN ) shares rose early Friday after the power producer agreed to acquire two gas-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio in a deal with a net value of about $3.5 billion.

The company will buy Caithness Energy's Moxie Freedom Energy Center in Pennsylvania and the Guernsey power station in Ohio, owned by Caithness and BlackRock ( BLK ) , it said late Thursday. Talen will also purchase the equity interests in the Guernsey plant that are owned by mid-market infrastructure funds managed by BlackRock's ( BLK ) Global Infrastructure Partners.

Talen shares jumped 16% in the most recent premarket activity.

The acquisitions of the two combined-cycle gas-fired plants are expected to complete in the fourth quarter, following approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulators, according to the company.

"This acquisition enhances Talen's fleet by selectively adding modern, highly efficient baseload H-class (combined cycle gas turbines) in Talen's key markets," Chief Executive Mac McFarland said in a statement. "The transaction is immediately and highly accretive, maintains our balance sheet discipline, and adds more than the equivalent of another Susquehanna nuclear plant to our platform, further enabling large load service."

Talen estimates the deal to be immediately accretive to free cash flow by over 40% on a per-share basis next year, and more than 50% through 2029. The company also expects the plants to boost its energy margin and increase its annual generation by 50%.

Talen plans to issue roughly $3.8 billion in new debt to fund the acquisitions, using both secured and unsecured instruments.

"This sale to Talen positions the assets for continued success under a strong and successful management team," Caithness CEO James Bishop Jr. said.