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Proposed Merger
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
Proposed Merger
Proposed Merger
On December 3, 2014, HEI, NextEra Energy, Inc., a Florida corporation (NEE), NEE Acquisition Sub I, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of NEE (Merger Sub II) and NEE Acquisition Sub II, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of NEE (Merger Sub I), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement). The Merger Agreement provides for Merger Sub I to merge with and into HEI (the Initial Merger), with HEI surviving, and then for HEI to merge with and into Merger Sub II, with Merger Sub II surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of NEE (the Merger). The Merger is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and be tax-free to HEI shareholders.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, upon the closing of the Merger, each issued and outstanding share of HEI common stock will automatically be converted into the right to receive 0.2413 shares of common stock of NEE (the Exchange Ratio). No adjustment to the Exchange Ratio is made in the Merger Agreement for any changes in the market prices of either HEI or NEE common stock between December 3, 2014 and the closing of the Merger.
The Merger Agreement contemplates that, immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, HEI will distribute to its shareholders all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of ASB Hawaii, the direct parent company of ASB (such distribution referred to as the Spin-Off), with ASB Hawaii becoming a new public company. In addition, the Merger Agreement contemplates that, immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, HEI will pay its shareholders a special dividend of $0.50 per share.
The closing of the Merger is subject to various conditions, including, among others, (i) the approval of holders of 75%% of the outstanding shares of HEI common stock, (ii) effectiveness of the registration statement for the NEE common stock to be issued in the Initial Merger and the listing of such shares on the New York Stock Exchange, (iii) expiration or termination of the applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period, (iv) receipt of all required regulatory approvals from, among others, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Communications Commission and the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, (v) the absence of any law or judgment in effect or pending in which a governmental entity has imposed or is seeking to impose a legal restraint that would prevent or make illegal the closing of the Merger, (vi) the absence of any material adverse effect with respect to either HEI or NEE, (vii) subject to certain exceptions, the accuracy of the representations and warranties of, and compliance with covenants by, each of the parties to the Merger Agreement, (viii) receipt by each of HEI and NEE of a tax opinion of its counsel regarding the tax treatment of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (ix) effectiveness of the ASB Hawaii registration statement necessary to consummate the Spin-Off, and (x) the determination by each of HEI and NEE that, upon completion of the Spin-Off, HEI will no longer be a savings and loan holding company or be deemed to control ASB for purposes of the Home Owners' Loan Act. The Spin-Off will be subject to various conditions, including, among others, the approval of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB).
The Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants of HEI and NEE.
HEI is also subject to a “no shop” restriction that limits its ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals, provide information or engage in discussion with third parties, except under limited circumstances to permit HEI’s board of directors to comply with its fiduciary duties.
The Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both HEI and NEE, including the right of either party to terminate the Merger Agreement if the Merger has not been consummated by December 3, 2015 (subject to a 6-month extension if required to obtain necessary regulatory approvals), and further provides that upon termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, HEI or NEE, as the case may be, would be required to pay the other party a termination fee of $90 million and reimburse the other party for up to $5 million of its documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the Merger Agreement.
On March 26, 2015, NEE’s Form S-4, which registers NEE common stock expected to be issued in the Initial Merger, was declared effective. Also on March 26, 2015, HEI filed its special meeting proxy statement for the vote on the merger proposal and related matters, which meeting is scheduled for May 12, 2015. On March 30, 2015, ASB Hawaii filed its Form 10, the registration statement for ASB Hawaii shares expected to be distributed in the Spin-Off.
PUC application In January 2015, NEE and Hawaiian Electric filed an application with the PUC requesting approval of the proposed Merger of Hawaiian Electric. The application also requests modification of certain conditions agreed to by HEI and the PUC in 1982 for the merger and corporate restructuring of Hawaiian Electric, and confirmation that with approval of the Merger Agreement, the recommendations in the 1995 Dennis Thomas Report (resulting from a proceeding to review the relationship between HEI and Hawaiian Electric and any impact of HEI’s then diversified activities on the Utilities) will no longer be applicable. The application includes a commitment that, for at least four years following the completion of the transaction, Hawaiian Electric will not submit any applications seeking a general base rate increase and will forego recovery of the incremental operations and maintenance rate adjustment under decoupling during that period, which amounts to approximately $60 million in cumulative savings for customers, subject to certain exceptions and conditions, including that the following remain in effect:  the RBA tariff provisions, the Rate Base RAM, the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Program, and Renewable Energy Infrastructure Surcharge, the IRP/DSM Recovery tariff provisions, the ECAC tariff provisions, the PPA tariff provision and the Pension and OPEB tracker mechanism. Various parties, including governmental, environmental and commercial interests, have been allowed to intervene in the proceeding.  The PUC issued an initial procedural schedule governing the pre-filing of testimonies by the parties in the proceeding and the discovery on the pre-filed testimonies, and indicated the PUC will issue a further order concerning hearing dates and related matters after the Utilities and NEE file response testimonies on August 31, 2015.
Other requests.  On January 29, 2015, HEI submitted its application to the FERC requesting all necessary authorization to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. The FERC issued its order authorizing the proposed merger on March 27, 2015.
On February 1, 2015, HEI submitted a letter to FRB requesting deregistration as a Savings & Loan Holding Company (SLHC).
Pending litigation and other matters.
Litigation. HEI and its subsidiaries are subject to various legal proceedings that arise from time to time. Some of these proceedings may seek relief or damages in amounts that may be substantial. Because these proceedings are complex, many years may pass before they are resolved, and it is not feasible to predict their outcomes. Some of these proceedings involve claims HEI and Hawaiian Electric believe may be covered by insurance, and HEI and Hawaiian Electric have advised their insurance carriers accordingly.
Since the December 3, 2014 announcement of the merger agreement, eight purported class action complaints were filed in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit for the State of Hawaii by alleged stockholders of HEI against HEI, Hawaiian Electric (in one complaint), the individual directors of HEI, NEE and NEE's acquisition subsidiaries. The lawsuits are captioned as follows: Miller v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 14-1-2531-12 KTN (December 15, 2014) (the Miller Action); Walsh v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 14-1-2541-12 JHC (December 15, 2014) (the Walsh Action); Stein v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 14-1-2555-12 KTN (December 17, 2014) (the Stein Action); Brown v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 14-1-2643-12 RAN (December 30, 2014) (the Brown Action); Cohn v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 14-1-2642-12 KTN (December 30, 2014) (the Cohn State Action); Guenther v. Watanabe, et al., Case No. 15-1-003-01 ECN (January 2, 2015) (the Guenther Action); Hudson v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 15-1-0013-01 JHC (January 5, 2015) (the Hudson Action); Grieco v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., et al., Case No. 15-1-0094-01 KKS (January 21, 2015) (the Grieco Action). On January 12, 2015, plaintiffs in the Miller Action, the Walsh Action, the Stein Action, the Brown Action, the Guenther Action, and the Hudson Action filed a motion to consolidate their actions and to appoint co-lead counsel. The Court held a hearing on this motion on February 13, 2015 and granted consolidation and appointment of co-lead counsel on March 6, 2015. On March 10, 2015, plaintiffs in the consolidated state action filed an amended complaint, and added J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC (JP Morgan), which was HEI’s financial advisor for the Merger, as a defendant. On March 17, 2015, plaintiffs in the consolidated state action moved for limited expedited discovery. After limited discovery, the parties in the consolidated state action stipulated and the Court ordered that the deadline for defendants to respond to the amended complaint is extended indefinitely.  On April 30, 2015, the Court consolidated the seven state actions under the caption, In re Consolidated HEI Shareholder Cases. On January 23, 2015, the Cohn State Action was voluntarily dismissed. Thereafter, the same alleged stockholder plaintiff filed a purported class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii against HEI, the individual directors of HEI, NEE and NEE's acquisition subsidiaries. The lawsuit is captioned as Cohn v. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. et al., 15-cv-00029-JMS-KSC (January 27, 2015) (the Cohn Federal Action).
The actions allege, among other things, that members of HEI's Board breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed transaction, and that the Merger Agreement involves an unfair price, was the product of an inadequate sales process, and contains unreasonable deal protection devices that purportedly preclude competing offers. The complaints further allege that HEI, NEE and/or its acquisition subsidiaries aided and abetted the purported breaches of fiduciary duty. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits seek, among other things, (i) a declaration that the Merger Agreement was entered into in breach of HEI's directors' fiduciary duties, (ii) an injunction enjoining the HEI Board from consummating the Merger, (iii) an order directing the HEI Board to exercise their duties to obtain a transaction which is in the best interests of HEI's stockholders, (iv) a rescission of the Merger to the extent that it is consummated, and/or (v) damages suffered as a result of the defendants' alleged actions. Plaintiffs in the consolidated state action also allege that JP Morgan had a conflict of interest in advising HEI because JP Morgan and its affiliates had business ties to and investments in NEE. The consolidated state action also alleges that the HEI board of directors violated its fiduciary duties by omitting material facts from the Registration Statement on Form S-4. In addition, the Cohn Federal Action alleges that the HEI board of directors violated its fiduciary duties and federal securities laws by omitting material facts from the Registration Statement on Form S-4.
HEI and Hawaiian Electric believe the allegations of the complaints are without merit and intend to defend these lawsuits vigorously.
Other matters. In January 2015, various clean energy and environmental groups filed a motion and applications with the PUC to delay consideration of the Company’s proposed Merger pending its decision on the Power Supply Improvement Plans, Distributed Generation Interconnection Plan, Integrated Demand Response Portfolio Plan, decoupling, and issues regarding customer-based distributed energy resources. The PUC issued its order on March 2, 2015, dismissing the motion and applications.