Report: PNM’s parent company exploring sale following takeover interest

Is TXNM Energy Inc. up for grabs?

Bloomberg News reported late Monday that the company, formerly PNM Resources Inc., is considering a sale. TXNM Energy oversees the Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest electricity provider.

The informal announcement, which company officials haven’t yet confirmed, comes as TXNM Energy continues to meet its earnings goals and projects further growth in the coming years. Bloomberg reported that insider sources shared early conversations around a “potential suitor” for TXNM Energy and that it is working with an adviser “to help it weigh its options.”

The Bloomberg report added that “deliberations are at an early stage and TXNM could decide to remain independent.”

A PNM spokesperson told the Journal Tuesday evening “we do not comment on market rumors or speculation regarding potential transactions,” per company policy.

Albuquerque-based TXNM Energy — which also oversees the Texas utility Texas-New Mexico Power Co. — plans to meet with investors this week to go over its 2025 earnings projections.

TXNM stocks have been on an upward trajectory over the past year and jumped nearly 7% at closing Tuesday in the wake of the Bloomberg report. Shares were trading at $51 as of Tuesday.

Around this time last year, the company was reeling from Avangrid, under the purview of energy giant Iberdrola, dissolving a $4.3 billion merger agreement after the state’s Public Regulation Commission rejected the merger and the New Mexico Supreme Court spent years mulling over an appeal request.

The then-elected five-member commission struck down the merger request in late 2021. Despite support from utility, business and state officials, including former Attorney General Hector Balderas and Wilford Herrera Jr., chair of the All-Pueblo Council of Governors, energy advocates had concerns about New Mexicans’ electricity costs rising as a result of the merger.

The PRC has undergone an overhaul since then, transitioning to a three-member appointed commission in 2023. Commissioners Pat O’Connell, Gabriel Aguilera and newest member Greg Nibert serve staggered terms.

Like with the proposed merger, a sale would require PRC approval to go through.

New Mexico has a unique utility market, with a fairly stagnant population of energy users and aggressive clean energy requirements set by the state. Investors can also find the market attractive due to New Mexico’s abundance of sunshine for solar energy and prime potential for geothermal energy development.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Gas Co. is still going through the regulatory approval process for its proposed $1.2 billion sale to Louisiana-based private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners.