(task) NextEra Energy Buys Hawaiian Electric for $4.3B | Energy Manager Today

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http://www.energymanagertoday.com/nextera-energy-buys-hawaiian-electric-4-3b-0107216/

NextEra Energy Buys Hawaiian Electric for $4.3B

December 5, 2014 By Linda Hardesty

NextEra Energy and Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) announced a merger agreement valued at about $4.3 billion, including the assumption of $1.7 billion in HEI debt and excluding HEI’s banking subsidiary.

Hawaiian Electric will maintain its name and continue to be based in Honolulu. There will be no involuntary workforce reductions at Hawaiian Electric for at least two years after the transaction closes.

In connection with the agreement, HEI separately announced a plan to spin off ASB Hawaii, the parent company of American Savings Bank, to HEI shareholders and establish it as an independent publicly traded company.

Hawaiian Electric had filed plans with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to nearly triple the amount of distributed solar. NextEra Energy says it is supportive of Hawaiian Electric’s plans to accomplish this goal.

NextEra Energy’s principal subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light (FPL) and NextEra Energy Resources, a producer of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Upon completion of the transaction, together with FPL and NextEra Energy Resources, Hawaiian Electric will become a third principal business within the NextEra Energy family of companies.

Last week, Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) approved new goals for utilities which effectively require less energy savings via demand response and energy efficiency programs than the utilities, including FPL, have been required to deliver since 2009. FPL supported the PSC’s change to the goals.

NextEra Energy and HEI expect the transaction, which has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, to be completed within about 12 months.