On September 4, 2015, Emera Inc. (“Emera”), a leading Canadian energy and services company, announced its acquisition of TECO Energy, Inc. (“TECO”), a Florida and New Mexico regulated electric and gas utilities holding company for US$6.5 billion. Under the terms of the all-cash agreement, TECO investors will receive US$27.55 per common share, a 48-per-cent premium based on the unaffected closing share price of July 15, 2015. The deal also includes about US$3.9-billion in debt, bringing the total deal to US$10.4 billion.
Emera’s deal with TECO creates a top 20 North American regulated utility with geographic diversity and significant growth potential. The acquisition also provides Emera with further opportunities to supply customers with cleaner generation.
On September 8, Emera also announced a $1.9 billion convertible debenture offering to help fund the acquisition. The offering is being co-led by Scotiabank, RBC Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan. The banks have the option to purchase up to an additional $285 million of the securities at the same price within 30 days of closing, which is expected to occur on or about September 28th.
Osler represented Emera in the acquisition and bought deal offering with a team led by John Macfarlane that included Jay Greenspoon, Daniel Fombonne, Lauren Hulme and Alex Gorka (M&A and Corporate Finance), Laurie Barrett and Scott Cooper (Banking and Financial Services), and Drew Morier, David Davachi and Paul Seraganian (Taxation).