Constellation Energy agreed to buy Calpine for $16.4 billion, combining two of the country’s largest electricity generators at a time when their product is in high demand from tech companies. Including the assumption of debt,

U.S. nuclear power provider Constellation Energy on Friday agreed to buy privately held natural gas and geothermal company Calpine Corp for $16.4 billion, one of the biggest acquisitions in U.S. power industry history.

Baltimore's Constellation Energy buying Calpine in a deal that joins two huge U.S. power companies George W. Bush gave fellow former president Barack Obama a friendly belly tap at the Jan. 9 funeral of Jimmy Carter, and the internet was obsessed with the viral moment.

Separately, Calpine and Constellation are already among the largest power generation companies in the country.

Constellation Energy is nearing a roughly $30 billion deal to acquire power producer Calpine, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, a move that would significantly expand Constellation's generation assets at a time of rising U.

Constellation is buying power natural gas and geothermal power provider Calpine in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $16.4 billion, joining together two of the country’s biggest power comp