(Bloomberg) -- Talen Energy Corp. has lined up $175 million of fresh cash to support its ambitions to pivot to renewable power and build a data center and cryptocurrency mining operation.
The financially troubled company signed a six-year agreement for as much as $175 million from Orion Energy Partners, according to a statement. Up to $125 million will be immediately available, with the $50 million balance available once certain milestones have been met.
Talen’s 6.5% notes due 2025 jumped 7.5 cents on the dollar to 53.75 cents after the deal was announced, gaining the most in the high-yield bond market, according to Trace.
Orion will receive a non-voting equity stake in Talen’s Cumulus Digital Holdings LLC unit, the parent of Cumulus Digital LLC, which will receive the financing. The investment is secured by a pledge of the assets of Cumulus Digital Holdings and its subsidiaries.
Subsidiaries of Talen Energy Supply LLC, the company’s debt-issuing vehicle, sold equity in clean energy development entities and undeveloped land to Cumulus Growth Holdings LLC, which owns Cumulus Digital. In return, it will receive convertible preferred equity in Cumulus Growth subsidiaries, giving it a stake in the data center and crypto operation. Talen Energy will own common equity in Cumulus Growth and its subsidiaries.
The deal is a step forward for the Riverstone Holdings-backed company’s plans to become a renewable energy producer. Talen said earlier this year that it was seeking financing to support those plans, while bondholders have expressed concern about its unsustainable debt load.
Some of its lenders have already assembled teams of legal and financial advisers ahead of possible talks on a debt restructuring, Bloomberg previously reported.
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