Iberdrola Sells 2,600 MW of Installed Capacity in Mexico to Cox for $4.2 Billion

Spanish energy companies Iberdrola and Cox have announced the signing of a major transaction involving the sale of 2,600 MW of installed capacity in Mexico for $4.2 billion. The deal covers a diverse portfolio of assets and is part of both companies’ broader strategic investment plans.

🔋 A Diverse Energy Portfolio

The package includes:

• 1,368 MW from combined-cycle and cogeneration plants

• 1,232 MW from wind and solar asset

  
  

These facilities are located across various Mexican states, including Coahuila, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Tamaulipas, Puebla, Guanajuato, Sonora, and San Luis Potosí.

The portfolio consists of six wind farms, three solar plants, and six combined-cycle and cogeneration facilities. According to Iberdrola, the transaction implies a valuation multiple of $1.6 million per MW of operational capacity. Additional payments are expected as projects still under construction are completed and brought online.

🌍 Part of a Global Investment Strategy

For Iberdrola, the sale aligns with its global investment strategy to focus on transmission and distribution networks in key international markets. The company plans to invest €55 billion across its regulated utilities:

• Avangrid Networks (United States)

• ScottishPower Energy Networks (United Kingdom)

• Neoenergia (Brazil)

• i-DE (Spain)

This strategy aims to nearly double Iberdrola’s regulated asset base to €90 billion in the coming years.

The proceeds from this transaction—along with others recently executed—will help ensure the necessary capital to carry out Iberdrola’s future investment plans, according to the company’s statement.

🇲🇽 Cox Accelerates Growth in Mexico

For Cox, this acquisition represents a transformational step and accelerates its strategic roadmap—originally planned for 2025–2028—by three years. The company emphasized its deep market knowledge and established presence in Mexico, calling the country a strategic market due to its regulatory stability.

As part of its broader commitment, Cox plans to invest $10.7 billion in Mexico between 2025 and 2030, which includes this acquisition. Additionally, Cox will integrate more than 800 Iberdrola employees in Mexico into its operations.

📉 Background: Iberdrola's Gradual Exit from Mexico

This transaction follows a 2024 deal (announced in early 2023), in which Iberdrola sold 55% of its Mexican energy assets—totaling 8,539 MW of gas-fired combined-cycle plants and 103 MW of wind assets—for $6 billion to the private investment fund Mexico Infrastructure Partners (MIP). That transaction had financial backing from Mexico’s National Infrastructure Fund (FONADIN) and other government-affiliated financial institutions. It was framed by the former Mexican administration as a partial re-nationalization of the country’s power sector, with operational control handed to CFE (Federal Electricity Commission).

Despite Iberdrola’s continued divestments, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated this week that there is no reason for Iberdrola to leave Mexico, asserting that the country provides legal certainty for private investment in electricity generation.