Atlantic Power Corporation AT announced that it has entered into a definite agreement with I Squared Capital to be acquired by the latter. The total enterprise value of the deal is nearly $961 million. Per the agreement, shareholders of Atlantic Power will receive $3.03 per share in cash, which represents a premium of 48% to the 30-day volume weighted average price per common share.Per the deal, the outstanding debentures will be converted to equity units prior to the deal closure and the holders of converted debentures will receive $3.03 per share. There’s also an arrangement to repay the preferred shareholders. I Squared Capital have the expertise to manage the high-quality assets of Atlantic Power and efficiently serve customers in 11 U.S. states, as well as two Canadian Provinces.More Deal in 2021?The year 2020 had been difficult for utilities. The outbreak of COVID-19 and resultant lockdown on activities significantly lowered the demand for utility services from the commercial and industrial customer group. Things are gradually changing and the rollout of vaccines in 2021 is expected to bring back business to pre-COVID levels, as well as help the companies in this mature sector.In 2020, NextEra Energy NEE made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Duke Energy DUK. The deal, if successful, would have created a large utility having focus on clean energy generation. NextEra Energy might look forward to new opportunities in 2021 and expand the business in the inorganic mode.Another utility, American Water Works AWK is continuously acquiring small water service providers and expanding operations. It added more than 36,000 customers to the customer base in 2020 via acquisitions. We expect the company to continue expanding operations through acquisitions in 2021 as well.Zacks Rank and Price PerformanceAtlantic Power currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.In the past three months, Atlantic Power’s shares have outperformed the industry.Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE): Free Stock Analysis Report Atlantic Power Corporation (AT): Free Stock Analysis Report American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research