Photo: Brent and MariLynn

It’s official - Texas power company TXU Corp. has agreed to be acquired by a group led by  private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group for $31.8 billion in the largest leveraged buyout in history, Reuters reported today. A significant element of this purchase is that the deal included extensive negotiation with conservationist groups. 

The acquisition got the nod from heavyweights the Environmental Defense Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council thanks to several pledges made by the buyers to improve the company’s environmental policies. 

Under the agreement, TXU said it would cut the number of planned coal-fueled generation plants to three from 11, and implement 10 percent price cuts that would result in annual savings of about $250 a year for the average household. 

“This is a watershed moment in America’s fight against global warming,” said Environmental Defense president Fred Krupp. “Environmental Defense commends Texas Pacific Group and KKR not only for dropping TXU’s applications for eight proposed coal plants in Texas, but also for the many other commitments they have made to reduce air pollution and global warming emissions, including their support of a mandatory federal cap on carbon emissions.”