Iberdrola USA obtains all required approvals to close integration with UIL Holdings Corporation

Iberdrola has announced to the Spanish Commission of the Stock Exchange (CNMV) that all of the conditions to complete the merger between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings Corporation have now been met.

Following the approval of the deal by the Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meetings of UIL Holding Corporation held last Friday in New Haven (Connecticut), and having obtained all federal and state permits, both companies are expected to be closing the merger today.

As a result of this friendly merger completed in record time, Iberdrola USA will now be called AVANGRID and be listed under that name -ticker AGR- on the New York Stock Exchange.  The new company’s shares will be traded for the first time on Wall Street tomorrow, December 17th.

AVANGRID hopes to help advance the transformation of the U.S. energy sector, leading its adaptation to a clean energy future by offering innovative solutions to the industry challenges.

Once the merger is complete, the new firm AVANGRID will be 81.5% owned by Iberdrola, S.A. and 18.5% by stock investors.

As well as transferring 18.5% of the share capital of Iberdrola USA to the former shareholders of UIL Holdings Corporation, the deal involves the payment of US$595 million in cash, i.e. a premium of about 19.5% on the average trading price of shares in UIL Holdings Corporation in the 30 days before 25 February, the day before the merger was announced.

AVANGRID, one of largest electricity utilities in United States

The merger between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings Corporation creates one of the largest electric utilities in the United States: AVANGRID.

After the closure of the deal -announced last February-, the new company will have $30 billion in assets, over 3.1 million points of supply and an installed capacity of some 6,700 megawatts (MW). Of these, 5,600 MW correspond to wind power generation, making AVANGRID the second wind power operator in the United States.  Approximately 69% of the capacity is contracted for an average term of nine years and the project pipeline stands at 5,900 MW.

AVANGRID will have a strong presence in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Maine, with operations spanning a further 21 states.

The new company’s activities are structured around three subsidiaries, which provide direct employment to 7,000 members of staff:

• Iberdrola Renewables, LLC: with 5.6 gigawatts of wind generation capacity sited in 53 wind farms in 18 states.
• Iberdrola USA Networks, Inc: groups a total of eight electricity and gas utility companies located in New York and New England.
• Iberdrola Energy Holdings, Inc: comprises the company’s gas trading & storage business.

Iberdrola USA, across the entire supply chain, provides jobs to over 50,000 people indirectly and makes annual purchases to US companies worth over $2 billionNote (*).

As regards the corporate governance of the new company, the Board of Directors of AVANGRID consists of 12 members, of which three will be appointed by UIL Holdings Corporation.

The management team will be headed by James P. Torgerson, the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AVANGRID and former CEO of UIL Holdings Corporation.