CANADIAN UTILITIES acquired by EMERA hf

Emera signed an all-stock agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Canadian Utilities, the Alberta electricity and gas utility controlled by ATCO, in a transaction carrying an enterprise value of CAD 14.3bn. Emera shareholders were expected to hold about 60% of the combined company and former ATCO and Canadian Utilities shareholders about 40%, and the deal was expected to add to adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing. In connection with the transaction, ATCO was to spin off its other businesses into a separate listed company, with Nancy Southern staying on as its chief executive. The combined group was to keep the Emera name and its Halifax headquarters, while maintaining Canadian Utilities’ corporate and operational bases in Calgary and Edmonton, its presence in markets including Perth, Australia, and Emera’s US headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Emera chief executive Scott Balfour was to lead the combined company, with Nancy Southern as co-chair of the board alongside Karen Sheriff. The two businesses were geographically complementary: Emera drew around 70% of its earnings from Florida and Canadian Utilities around 80% from Alberta, so that the combined group expected about 95% of its earnings to come from regulated utilities and 80% from those two markets. Completion was expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.