MAM merger under investigation
A national law firm that specializes in shareholder rights announced Friday it is investigating the planned acquisition of Presque Isle-based utility Maine & Maritimes by Canadian firm Emera.
The same day Maine & Maritimes, parent company of Maine Public Service Co., announced a merger agreement with the parent company of Bangor Hydro Electric Co., law firm Levi & Korsinsky said it has launched an investigation into whether the deal violates state law, according to a press release from the New York firm. The law firm is investigating the company's board of directors for possible breaches of fiduciary duty to its stockholders "by failing to adequately shop the company before entering into this transaction." Levi & Korsinsky is also looking into whether the $45 per share Emera is paying for Maine & Maritimes' shares is an underpayment, since one analyst set a price target of the company's stock at $54 per share. An underpayment would unlawfully hurt the company's stockholders, according to the release.
The deal has also attracted the scrutiny of former state energy director and public advocate Gordon Weil, who told the Maine Public Broadcasting Network the acquisition would mean costs for northern Maine ratepayers "will skyrocket by comparison with what they're paying today." Maine Public Service Co.'s transmission costs are much lower, about $18 per kilowatt year, compared with the projected New England cost of $116 per kilowatt year, he said.
The deal, valued at $108 million, according to the Bangor Daily News, must be approved the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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