BlackRock and EQT notify EU of joint control takeover of AES

The European Commission received on 23 September 2026 notification of a proposed concentration under which Global Infrastructure Management, LLC (GIM), controlled by BlackRock, Inc., and EQT Fund Management S.à r.l. (EFMS) will acquire joint control of The AES Corporation (AES). The prior notification, registered as case M.12435 – GIM / EFMS / AES, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C series, of 1 October 2026 under reference C/2026/5123. Interested third parties have ten days from publication to submit their observations.

The notification was made pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings, the Merger Regulation (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1). The Commission states that, on preliminary examination, the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation, although the final decision on this point is reserved. The case is a candidate for treatment under the simplified procedure set out in the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations (OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1), and the notice carries EEA relevance.

The undertakings concerned

• Global Infrastructure Management, LLC (GIM, United States), controlled by BlackRock, Inc. (United States), is the global independent infrastructure fund manager of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), primarily focused on investing in the transportation, energy, waste, water and digital infrastructure sectors.
• EQT Fund Management S.à r.l. (EFMS, Luxembourg), belonging to the EQT Group (Sweden), is the alternative investment fund manager of EQT Infrastructure VI, focused on investing in sectors such as energy and environment, transport and logistics, and digital.
• The AES Corporation (AES, United States) is a global power generation and utility company.

The transaction

GIM and EFMS will acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation, joint control of the whole of AES. The concentration is to be accomplished by way of purchase of shares. The Commission’s preliminary finding that the transaction may fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation does not prejudge its final assessment of the case.

Third-party observations

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed concentration. Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of publication of the notice, that is by 11 October 2026, and must always specify the reference M.12435 – GIM / EFMS / AES. Submissions may be sent by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post to the European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition, Merger Registry, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium.

The notice opens a short window for rivals, customers, workers and governments to flag competition concerns over a deal that would place a major United States power generation and utility group under the joint control of two of the world’s largest infrastructure investors. Because the case is a candidate for the simplified procedure, the Commission’s initial signal is that it sees no obvious overlap problems, but the final decision on jurisdiction and the outcome of the review remain open.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, No C/2026/5123, 1 October 2026, notices (official reference: C/2026/5123).