Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000092122-25-000018
Chunk: 841

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7A
Chunk 841
---
 value of assets acquired.

Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management judgment and Southern Power may engage independent valuation experts to assist in this process. Fair values are determined by using market participant assumptions and typically include the timing and amounts of future cash flows, incurred construction costs, the nature of acquired contracts, discount rates, power market prices, and expected asset lives. For potential or successful acquisitions that meet the definition of a business, any due diligence or transaction costs incurred are expensed as incurred. If the acquisition is an asset acquisition, direct and incremental transaction costs can be capitalized as a component of the cost of the assets acquired.

See Note 13 to the financial statements for additional fair value information and Note 15 to the financial statements for additional information on recent acquisitions.

Variable Interest Entities (Southern Power)

Southern Power has partnerships with varying ownership structures. Upon entering into these arrangements, membership interests and other variable interests are evaluated to determine if the legal entity is a VIE. If the legal entity is a VIE, Southern Power will assess if it has both the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE, making it the primary beneficiary. Making this determination may require significant management judgment.

If Southern Power is the primary beneficiary and is considered to have a controlling ownership, the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the entity are consolidated. If Southern Power is not the primary beneficiary, the legal entity is generally accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Southern Power reconsiders its conclusions as to whether the legal entity is a VIE and whether it is the primary beneficiary for events that impact the rights of variable interests, such as ownership changes in membership interests.

Southern Power has controlling ownership in certain legal entities for which the contractual provisions represent profit-sharing arrangements because the allocations of cash distributions and tax benefits are not based on fixed ownership percentages. For these arrangements, the noncontrolling interest is accounted for under a balance sheet approach utilizing the HLBV method. The HLBV method calculates each partner's share of income based on the change in net equity the partner can legally claim in an HLBV at the end of the period compared to the beginning of the period.

Contingent Obligations (All Registrants)

The Registrants are subject to a number of federal and state laws and regulations, as well as other factors and conditions that subject them