The Diplomat
Avangrid, Iberdrola’s US subsidiary, and PNM Resources have given themselves three more months until 20 July to complete their merger, which would create an energy giant in the country, the two companies said.
Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said the energy company “remains committed to the merger, which will bring more than $300 million (271.32 million euros) in benefits to customers and communities in New Mexico and more than $16 million (about 14.47 million euros) in rate relief to customers in Texas”. “Through this merger, we will contribute to the economic development of the regions and support their continued vitality and prosperity,” he said.
PNM Resources president and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said the merger with Avangrid “continues to be the right path to a clean energy future and additional benefits for our customers and communities.
In this way, both companies continue with their merger objective, pending the review by the State regulator of the authorisation, after the operation was knocked down at the end of 2021, reports Europa Press.
PNM Resources and Avangrid, along with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, filed a joint motion in the New Mexico Supreme Court in March to dismiss the denial and return the case to the regulator.
This motion is still pending, and there is no legal deadline for the court’s decision or for the possible case to be sent back to the regulator, so both groups have given themselves three months more than the 20 April deadline they had set for themselves -although an additional three-month period was already recognised- to close the merger.
In this way, the group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán continues with its objective of completing this purchase, which would be the Spanish energy company’s major operation to accelerate its growth in the US market.
In December 2021, the regulator of the State of New Mexico rejected Iberdrola’s purchase of PNM Resources. The no to the deal was unanimous among the five members of the commission, who considered that the risks of the deal outweighed the promised benefits to state taxpayers.
The rejection was a setback to Iberdrola’s plans for its big deal in a market like the United States, a merger with an implied enterprise value of about $8.3 billion (about 7,007 million euros), taking into account net debt plus adjustments of about $4 billion (about 3,377 million euros).
The acquisition would create one of the largest companies in the North American sector, with ten regulated utilities in six states (New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas) and the third largest renewables operator in the country, with a total presence in 24 states.
The merger has received approval from five federal agencies and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Avangrid and PNM Resources along with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) filed a joint motion in the New Mexico Supreme Court in March to dismiss the regulator’s December 2021 denial and remand the case back to the NMPRC.
