Explanatory Note
This Amendment No. 3 to the Rule 13e-3 Transaction Statement on Schedule 13E-3 is being filed solely to update hyperlinks for Exhibits (a)(2)(iii), (a)(2)(iv), (c)(1), (c)(7) and (d)(1) to Amendment No. 2 to the Rule 13e-3 Transaction Statement on Schedule 13E-3 (“Amendment No. 2”). No other changes or additions are being made hereby to Amendment No. 2.
Introduction
This Amendment No. 3 to Rule 13e-3 Transaction Statement on Schedule 13E-3, together with the exhibits thereto (as amended, this “Transaction Statement”), is being filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Section 13(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Exchange Act”), jointly by the following persons (each, a “Filing Person,” and, collectively, the “Filing Persons”): (i) Avangrid, Inc., a New York corporation (the “Company”), (ii) Iberdrola, S.A., a corporation organized under the laws of Spain (“Parent”), and (iii) Arizona Merger Sub, Inc., a New York corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”).
This Transaction Statement relates to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 17, 2024 (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Parent, Merger Sub and the Company. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement and subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, upon consummation of the Merger, each share of the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Avangrid Common Stock”) outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (other than the Excluded Shares (as defined in the Proxy Statement)), will be converted into the right to receive $35.75 in cash, without interest. Following consummation of the Merger, there will be no further market for the shares of Avangrid Common Stock and the shares of Avangrid Common Stock will no longer be publicly traded and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). As a result of the Merger, holders of Avangrid Common Stock, other than Parent, will cease to have any ownership interest in the Company and will no longer have any interest in the Company’s future earnings, growth or value.
Concurrently with the filing of this Transaction Statement, the Company is filing with the SEC a definitive proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act relating to its annual meeting of the shareholders of the Company at which, among other things, the holders of Avangrid Common Stock will be asked to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the Merger Agreement. The Merger cannot be consummated unless the Merger Agreement is adopted by the affirmative vote of (i) the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares of Avangrid Common Stock, (ii) the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares of Avangrid Common Stock held by the Company’s shareholders other than Parent and the Parent Controlled Affiliates (as defined in the Proxy Statement), and (iii) the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares of Avangrid Common Stock held by the Unaffiliated Shareholders (as defined in the Proxy Statement) (the vote described in the foregoing clauses (i) through (iii), collectively, the “Company Requisite Vote”). A copy of the Proxy Statement is attached hereto as Exhibit (a)(2)(i). A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached as Annex A to the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.
Consistent with the requirements of the shareholder agreement, dated December 16, 2015, between the Company and Parent, the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) delegated to the unaffiliated committee of the Board comprised solely of independent and disinterested directors (the “Unaffiliated Committee”) the full authority to, among other things, examine, evaluate and negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction involving the Company and Parent or any other strategic transaction, including with a third party, that may be available to the Company. The Unaffiliated Committee, as more fully described in the Proxy Statement, evaluated the Merger, with the assistance of its own independent legal and financial advisors. At the conclusion of its review, the Unaffiliated Committee unanimously (i) approved and declared advisable the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, (ii) determined that the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and the Unaffiliated Shareholders, (iii) recommended that the Board authorize and approve the execution, delivery and performance of the Merger Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, and (iv) recommended that the Board recommend that the shareholders of the Company adopt the Merger Agreement.
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