Vistra bought ten power plants. The cash bill didn't stop there.
A $1.7 billion debt payoff followed the Cogentrix closing. New figures show how the deal, a preferred-stock redemption and fresh borrowing reshaped Vistra's available funding.
Vistra has repaid about $1.7 billion of debt that came with its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy. That followed a roughly $2.2 billion cash payment and the issue of 5 million shares to buy the power-plant portfolio.
The transaction closed on October 30. Vistra's November 6 results confirmed the subsequent debt repayment and showed how the purchase fits alongside other demands on its funding.
Vistra's power-generation business and financial profile now includes the ten acquired gas-fired plants, adding about 5.5 gigawatts of capacity. The Texas company also sells electricity to retail customers.
Following the money after closing
At September 30, Vistra had $8.9 billion of available liquidity. That combined $2.7 billion of cash with unused borrowing capacity under its main credit facilities.
Since then, it has paid for Cogentrix, cleared the acquired debt and separately redeemed $1 billion of Series A preferred stock. It also borrowed the full $1.375 billion available through financing facilities backed by customer receivables.
After allowing for those transactions, Vistra puts available liquidity at about $5.4 billion on a pro forma basis. That is its September funding position adjusted for the later transactions, including cash and credit availability.
The cash requirement differs from the roughly $4 billion net transaction valuation quoted when the deal was announced in January. That valuation included assumed debt and deducted the present value of expected tax benefits. Vistra also paid part of the price in shares, valued by agreement at $185 each.
The earnings contribution comes next
The enlarged fleet supports Vistra's 2027 forecast for ongoing operations: $7.7 billion to $8.5 billion of adjusted EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and specified adjustments. The forecast also includes the first phase of its operating power-supply agreement with Meta.
For 2026, Vistra narrowed that earnings range to $7.1 billion to $7.5 billion, from August's $6.8 billion to $7.6 billion. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA from ongoing operations rose to $2.38 billion from $1.58 billion a year earlier, helped by power prices, retail performance and the earlier Lotus acquisition. Cogentrix closed after the quarter ended.
The cash forecast gives a different view of the expansion. Vistra expects $4.3 billion to $5.1 billion of adjusted free cash flow before growth in 2027. That measure deducts maintenance spending but leaves out growth investments and removes working-capital and margin-deposit movements.
Its 2027 plan includes about $3.15 billion of total capital spending, including growth projects. Those projects compete for capital alongside share repurchases, for which $2.5 billion of authorization remains.
One acquired plant is set to leave
Vistra plans to sell Cogentrix's 271-megawatt Rumford plant in Maine. The Justice Department said the decision followed concerns about competition in New England's electricity markets. The latest presentation still lists the sale as expected.
The immediate question is how quickly the larger fleet can replenish the funding used to acquire it. The next results will start to show Cogentrix's contribution, while cash generation and spending will show how much room remains for Vistra's other plans.