CanadaÔÇÖs Emera to buy Maine & Maritimes

Canada-based energy and services company Emera Inc. has announced it is to buy the US company Maine & Maritimes Corp.  Halifax-based Emera, the parent of Nova Scotia Power, will pay about US$77 million in cash, or $45 a share for Maine & Maritimes, and will also take on the companyÔÇÖs $30 million debt, valuing the deal at around $107 million. The proposed purchase price represents a 40 percent premium over Maine & MaritimesÔÇÖ closing share price last Thursday. Maine & Maritimes, based in Presque Isle, Maine, is the parent company of Maine Public Service Company and MAM Utility Services Group. Maine Public Service Company is a regulated electric transmission and distribution utility serving around 36,000 customers in northern Maine. MAM Utility Services Group carries out electrical services and construction. As a transmission and distribution utility, Maine Public Service does not have any electrical generation capability. If the agreement is approved, Emera will own two of MaineÔÇÖs electrical utilities. However, the state has several othersÔÇöthe largest of which is Central Maine Power Co., which has about 560,000 customers. Emera already owns the electrical utility Bangor Hydro Electric Co., which it bought in 2001, gaining it around 115,000 more customers. It also owns the Brunswick Pipeline, a 145-kilometre gas pipeline in New Brunswick, Canada. In addition, the company has holdings in the Caribbean, and last year bought Bayside Power, a 260 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Saint John. The Maine acquisition means that Emera now has more than 150,000 customers in the US state. The purchase also boosts the company's ability to ship power from the Maritime provinces into New England. "We look forward to serving the customers of Northern Maine and building on the strong community reputation established by Maine Public Service Company," said Chris Huskilson, president and CEO of Emera. "Maine plays an important role in the Maritime and New England energy market. This merger is an important next step in Emera's strategy of growth and integration within the Northeast market, by geographically expanding our service territory in Maine to the New Brunswick market." Maine & Maritimes currently has about 140 employees. Emera said the acquisition would not lead to any job cuts in the short term. The deal must be approved by regulators and Maine Public Service shareholders, and is not expected to close for six to eight months. The deal does not require approval from Emera shareholders. Emera reported a profit last year of $175.7 million from revenue of $1.47 billion. This was up on its profit of $144.1 million and revenue of $1.33 billion in 2008. In the quarter ending December 31, Emera posted a profit of $37.5 million from revenue of $389.1 million, compared to a profit of $25.3 million from revenue of $337.3 million during the same period a year earlier.