The New Mexico regulator demolishes Iberdrola's operation to create an energy giant in the US.
Madrid
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The New Mexico state regulator has overturned the purchase by Iberdrola, through its subsidiary Avangrid, of PNM Resources, the large operation of the Spanish energy company to accelerate its growth in the United States market.
The 'no' to the operation has been unanimous by the five members of the commission, who have considered that the risks of the agreement outweigh the benefits promised to state taxpayers.
In this way, the group chaired by Ignacio Galán suffers a setback in its large operation in a market like the United States, which supposed an implicit company value of approximately € 7 billion, considering a net debt plus adjustments of approximately 3,377 million euros.
The acquisition involved the creation of one of the largest companies in the North American sector, with ten electricity companies regulated in six states (New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas) and the third largest renewable operator in the country, with a total presence in 24 states.
The combination of Avangrid and PNM, with approximately 4.1 million supply points, a regulated asset base (RAB) of approximately € 12,157 million, more than 168,000 kilometers of distribution and transmission networks and approximately 10.9 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, it was to suppose an acceleration in the growth of the Iberdrola group in the United States.
Iberdrola sources showed Ep their "disappointment" with this "unfair" decision and indicated their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In this sense, they recalled that the operation had already had the approval in all previous permits from different organizations and with the support of interest groups. "We hope one day to welcome the Avangrid family to New Mexico," they added.
For his part, the president and CEO of PNM Resources, Pat Vincent-Collawn, expressed his disappointment at the regulator's decision and considered that "the merits of the agreements reached by the parties had not been taken into account and the request to hear oral arguments ».
