Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) (“Eversource”) today announced that
it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Aquarion Water
Company (“Aquarion”) to the Aquarion Water Authority (“AWA”), a
quasi-public corporation and political subdivision of the State of
Connecticut and a standalone, newly created water authority
alongside the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
(“RWA”). Subject to certain closing adjustments, the aggregate
enterprise value of the sale is approximately $2.4 billion, which
includes approximately $1.6 billion in cash and $800 million of net
debt that will be extinguished at closing. The aggregate value
represents 1.7X rate base at December 2024. The proceeds from the
sale will enable Eversource to pay down parent company debt while
efficiently reinvesting capital into its core electric and natural
gas businesses, enabling additional investments in reliability for
customers and strengthening Eversource’s financial position. As a
result of this transaction, Eversource expects to record a loss on
the planned sale of Aquarion of approximately $300 million in its
results for the fourth quarter of 2024. This loss on sale includes
approximately $140 million of estimated income tax expense.
Eversource reaffirms its long-term EPS growth target of between 5%
and 7% through 2028.
“Since our acquisition of Aquarion in 2017, we have built on
Aquarion’s longstanding track record of superior customer service,
industry-leading reliability and operational success to help them
become the largest investor-owned water utility in New England and
seventh largest in the country,” said Eversource Chairman,
President and CEO Joe Nolan. “I would like to thank the Aquarion
leadership team for its sound management and financial stewardship
of the company and extend my sincere gratitude to all Aquarion
employees for their tireless, customer-first focus on safety and
exceptional service, consistent with our core values at Eversource.
By prioritizing prudent investments with a focus on affordability,
we’ve worked together to ensure Aquarion’s water service is among
the best in New England.”
“This transaction reinforces our commitment to our core electric
and natural gas operations as the largest regulated utility in New
England, allowing us to optimize our portfolio and strengthening
our balance sheet while reinvesting capital to benefit our
customers,” Nolan continued. “We will continue to collaborate with
all stakeholders across our service territories in Connecticut,
Massachusetts and New Hampshire to deliver cost-effective solutions
that ensure safe, reliable electric and natural gas service for our
customers.”
“Through the AWA transaction, we are advancing our water
utility’s regional supply strategy and are excited to put our
organization’s 45-year track record of demonstrating the benefits
of RWA’s stewardship, expertise, regulation and organizational
stability to work for Aquarion customers, communities and employees
as a not-for-profit, quasi-public utility,” said RWA & AWA
Interim President and CEO Sunder Lakshminarayanan. “Both the RWA
and Aquarion share similar missions to be the service provider and
employer of choice. We strive to do this by providing customers
with the highest quality water and services at an affordable cost
while protecting the environment, and creating a safe and positive
workplace where all employees can do their best work on behalf of
the customers and communities served.”
Aquarion, headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut, serves
nearly 250,000 water and wastewater customers in 72 cities and
towns across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire – with
more than 360 employees that help provide safe and reliable service
to more than 775,000 people. Aquarion has been in the water
business since 1857 through its predecessor company (Bridgeport
Hydraulic Company) and has continued to grow and diversify its
business since its acquisition by Eversource in 2017. Under
Eversource’s ownership, Aquarion has added approximately 30,000
customers through six acquisitions – including New England Service
Company (CT, NH, MA) in 2021, The Torrington Water Company (CT) in
2022 and the Pinehills Water System in Plymouth (MA) in 2023 – that
grew the rate base by a combined aggregate of approximately $200
million. This growth also includes Aquarion’s entry into the
wastewater business with the purchase of the Town of New Hartford’s
(CT) municipal water and wastewater treatment systems in 2023 and
the purchase of the City of Ansonia’s (CT) municipal wastewater
system in 2024.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the
Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and the New Hampshire
Public Utilities Commission, as well as other approvals pursuant to
the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act as well as other
customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close
in late 2025.
Citi and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial
advisors to Eversource Energy. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal
counsel to Eversource Energy.
Barclays served as M&A advisor to AWA. Cravath, Swaine &
Moore LLP served as legal counsel to AWA.
About Eversource
Eversource (NYSE: ES), celebrated as a national leader for its
corporate citizenship, is recognized as the #1 U.S. utility on
TIME’s List of World’s Best Companies for 2024. Eversource
transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas and supplies
water to approximately 4.4 million customers in Connecticut,
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The #1 energy efficiency provider
in the nation, Eversource harnesses the commitment of more than
10,000 employees across three states to build a single, united
company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and
water with superior customer service. The company is empowering a
clean energy future in the Northeast, with nationally recognized
energy efficiency solutions and successful programs to integrate
new clean energy resources like a first-in-the-nation networked
geothermal pilot project, solar, offshore wind, electric vehicles
and battery storage, into the electric system. For more
information, please visit eversource.com, and follow us on X,
Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more information on our
water services, visit aquarionwater.com.
About RWA-AWA
Trusted since 1849, the South Central Connecticut Regional Water
Authority (RWA) – acting on behalf of the newly created Aquarion
Water Authority – is an award-winning not-for-profit water utility
and environmental services corporation that makes life better for
people by providing high-quality water and services to about
430,000 people in 15 cities and towns throughout Greater New Haven.
As a conscious business, the RWA acts as a responsible steward of
the environment by protecting the nearly 28,000 acres of watershed
land it owns and promoting sustainable practices. Our employees
work toward our vision of being an innovative water utility that
sustains life, strengthens communities, and protects natural
resources for future generations. For more information on the RWA,
visit rwater.com.
This document includes statements concerning Eversource Energy’s
expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies,
assumptions of future events, future financial performance or
growth and other statements that are not historical facts,
including leverage targets and earnings objectives and expectations
about closing the transaction and the timing thereof. These
statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, readers can identify these
forward-looking statements through the use of words or phrases such
as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,”
“believe,” “forecast,” “would,” “should,” “could” and other similar
expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ
materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations,
estimates, assumptions or projections of management and are not
guarantees of future performance. These expectations, estimates,
assumptions or projections may vary materially from actual results.
Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by
reference to, and are accompanied by, the following important
factors that may cause our actual results or outcomes to differ
materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to: cyberattacks or breaches, including
those resulting in the compromise of the confidentiality of our
proprietary information and the personal information of our
customers; disruptions in the capital markets or other events that
make our access to necessary capital more difficult or costly;
changes in economic conditions, including impact on interest rates,
tax policies, and customer demand and payment ability; our ability
to satisfy the conditions to closing the transaction and to
consummate the closing on the timeline we expect; ability or
inability to commence and complete our major strategic development
projects and opportunities; acts of war or terrorism, physical
attacks or grid disturbances that may damage and disrupt our
electric transmission and electric, natural gas, and water
distribution systems; actions or inaction of local, state and
federal regulatory, public policy and taxing bodies; substandard
performance of third-party suppliers and service providers;
fluctuations in weather patterns, including extreme weather due to
climate change; changes in business conditions, which could include
disruptive technology or development of alternative energy sources
related to our current or future business model; contamination of,
or disruption in, our water supplies; changes in levels or timing
of capital expenditures; changes in laws, regulations or regulatory
policy, including compliance with environmental laws and
regulations; changes in accounting standards and financial
reporting regulations; actions of rating agencies; and other
presently unknown or unforeseen factors.
Other risk factors are detailed in Eversource Energy’s reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They are
updated as necessary and available on Eversource Energy’s website
at www.eversource.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All
such factors are difficult to predict and contain uncertainties
that may materially affect Eversource Energy’s actual results, many
of which are beyond our control. You should not place undue
reliance on the forward-looking statements, as each speaks only as
of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as
required by federal securities laws, Eversource Energy undertakes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such
statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250127845926/en/
William Hinkle (Eversource Media) william.hinkle@eversource.com
603-634-2228 Rima Hyder (Eversource Investor Relations)
rima.hyder@eversource.com 781-441-8062 Kevin Watsey (RWA – AWA
Media) kwatsey@rwater.com 475-331-5158
Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)
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