ITC Holdings' Takeover By Fortis Gets Regulatory Approval

ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ITC) has announced that Fortis Inc. (TO:FTS) .TO) has obtained regulatory approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission to proceed with the its pending acquisition of the former.

Acquisition Details

This February, ITC Holdings inked a deal with Fortis to be acquired by the latter for a consideration of approximately $11.3 billion (based on the Feb 8 closing price of ITC Holdings’ common shares).

Under the terms of the agreement, ITC shareholders are entitled to $22.57 in cash and 0.7520 of a Fortis common share for each ITC common share.

Upon the closing of the transaction, ITC Holdings will continue to operate as a stand-alone transmission company. The takeover will allowthe company to pursue its strategy of focusing on growth and operational excellence while leveraging Fortis’ broader platform to improve reliability of the grid, expand its footprint in the power markets and lower costs for end-customers.

Requisite Approvals

The proposed acquisition was already approved by ITC Holdings’ shareholders in June. Other approvals secured by Fortis include the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Illinois Commerce Commission. Further, the post-filing waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired last month.

Approvals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other State authorities are still pending and are expected to be received later this year.

Zacks Rank &Key Picks

ITC Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2(Buy). A couple of other well-placed stocks in the same space include Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) and Korea Electric Power Corp. (NYSE:KEP) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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