Auditor switches from EY to KPMG ahead of merger closing

The switch is primarily a merger mechanics issue, not an accounting dispute. EY was dismissed because it will no longer be independent after the announced transaction with Global Infrastructure Management- and EQT-affiliated funds closes; KPMG takes over effective upon filing the June 30, 2026 10-Q (Auditor change disclosure). That makes the direction partly known from the merger, while the formal auditor transition is the new disclosure.

The filing does not identify a fresh disagreement or audit qualification. EY reported no disagreements with management and no reportable events other than the previously disclosed material weakness tied to the AES Brasil disposition process (Auditor change disclosure). Its 2024 internal-control report included an adverse opinion because of that weakness, but the filing does not describe a new deterioration or restatement.

KPMG's prior services create an independence footnote, not a stated impairment. KPMG identified impermissible tax, payroll, employment-law and financial-model services performed for foreign affiliates, but says they were completed or terminated before appointment and did not impair its objectivity; the Audit Committee reached the same conclusion (Auditor change disclosure). Net: this is a neutral, expected-transition filing rather than a clean new catalyst or a substantive accounting negative.