M&A moves

Dallas-area business to acquire Houston renewable energy co.

Houston renewables company Proteus Power is getting acquired. Photo via

Houston-based developer of utility-scale renewable energy Proteus Power is being acquired by JBB Advanced Technologies for an undisclosed amount after founder, chairman, and CEO, John B. Billingsley signed a letter of intent to purchase.

"I know the potential of renewable energy, both for our country and for the small landowners and communities we work with," Billingsley says in a news release. "Proteus Power is just the type of company I have known and grown in the past, and we're perfectly positioned to make it a very profitable company for our investors. In the near term, this very substantial business will provide a multi-billion-dollar boost to the Texas economy, from Lubbock to Midland, across West Texas and down to the Gulf Coast."

Proteus Power currently incorporates a total of 15.5 gigawatts of utility-scale renewable energy projects, which include utility-scale solar and battery energy storage systems. Nearly 5 gigawatts of both utility-scale solar and battery energy storage should be developed at an estimated EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) cost of $3.38 billion over the next four years.

Proteus Power projects also include multiple independent system operators: ERCOT West, ERCOT Houston, ERCOT North, ERCOT South, Miso LA/MS, Miso Illinois, Miso Texas, and SPP South.

Billingsley, who launched one of the nation's largest renewable energy companies, Tri Global Energy, with the purchase of Proteus Power, continues JBB’s efforts for “clean, affordable solar energy systems to commercial concerns” according to the company.

Proteus Power headquarters in Houston will move to JBB Advanced Technologies' headquarters in Carrollton, Texas, with all current employees being retained, pending the final acquisition, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.A branch office is also planned to be located in Lubbock, Texas.

"The Proteus Power development team is clearly among the best in the renewable industry today," Billingsley adds. "The company has thrived under the leadership of Chief Development Officer Dan Phillips, and we at JBBAT are fortunate to inherit such a strong team to work with us as we move forward to jump back in the energy transition."

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A View From HETI

A unanimous settlement has been reached in Blackstone's $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy. Photo via Unsplash.

A settlement has been reached in a regulatory dispute over Blackstone Infrastructure’s pending acquisition of TXNM Energy, the parent company of Texas-New Mexico Power Co. , which provides electricity in the Houston area. The settlement still must be approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Aside from Public Utility Commission staffers, participants in the settlement include TXNM Energy, Texas cities served by Texas-New Mexico Power, the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel, Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, Walmart and the Texas Energy Association for Marketers.

Texas-New Mexico Power, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Lewisville, supplies electricity to more than 280,000 homes and businesses in Texas. Ten cities are in Texas-New Mexico Power’s Houston-area service territory:

  • Alvin
  • Angleton
  • Brazoria
  • Dickinson
  • Friendswood
  • La Marque
  • League City
  • Sweeny
  • Texas City
  • West Columbia

Under the terms of the settlement, Texas-New Mexico Power must:

  • Provide a $45.5 million rate credit to customers over 48 months, once the deal closes
  • Maintain a seven-member board of directors, including three unaffiliated directors as well as the company’s president and CEO
  • Embrace “robust” financial safeguards
  • Keep its headquarters within the utility’s Texas service territory
  • Avoid involuntary layoffs, as well as reductions of wages or benefits related to for-cause terminations or performance issues

The settlement also calls for Texas-New Mexico Power to retain its $4.2 billion five-year capital spending plan through 2029. The plan will help Texas-New Mexico Power cope with rising demand; peak demand increased about 66 percent from 2020 to 2024.

Citing the capital spending plan in testimony submitted to the Public Utility Commission, Sebastian Sherman, senior managing director of Blackstone Infrastructure, said Texas-New Mexico Power “needs the right support to modernize infrastructure, to strengthen the grid against wildfire and other risks, and to meet surging electricity demand in Texas.”

Blackstone Infrastructure, which has more than $64 billion in assets under management, agreed in August to buy TXNM Energy in a $11.5 billion deal.

Neal Walker, president of Texas-New Mexico Power, says the deal will help his company maintain a reliable, resilient grid, and offer “the financial resources necessary to thrive in this rapidly changing energy environment and meet the unprecedented future growth anticipated across Texas.”

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