Avangrid shareholders have approved the acquisition of the remaining 18.4% of its capital, through a merger operation, by Spanish electric utility company Iberdrola. The operation was supported by over 99% of the votes cast. According to Iberdrola, the percentage of support among shareholders, excluding the votes of Iberdrola and QIA – the main shareholder in the Spanish firm – reached approximately 93%. The acquisition, which was launched in March this year, will result in Avangrid’s delisting from the US stock exchange. Once the remaining regulatory authorisations are received, Iberdrola will pay $2.55bn for the acquired share. Shareholders of Iberdrola’s US subsidiary will receive €35.75 ($39.83) per share, a 15.2% premium to the average share price in the 30 days before the announcement. The transaction, which has already received approvals from the FERC and Maine regulators, is expected to close before the end of the year, once authorisation is received from the New York regulator. Avangrid holds $46bn in assets and distributes electricity to 7m people in the states of New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts and has an installed capacity of 8.7GW of renewable power in 24 states. It employs around 8,000 people. “The transaction is fully aligned with our strategy of investing in grids in countries with high credit ratings, such as the United States. Avangrid will have all the resources it needs to continue growing in transmission and distribution, and also in renewable technologies such as offshore wind,” said Iberdrola’s chairman Ignacio Galán. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsOffshore Wind Spain United States