Fortis Inc. To Acquire ITC Holdings Corp. For US$11.3 billion

Fortis Inc.and ITC Holdings Corp. have entered into an agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which Fortis will acquire ITC in a transaction valued at approximately US$11.3 billion.

Under the terms of the transaction ITC shareholders will receive US$22.57 in cash and 0.7520 Fortis shares per ITC share. 

Following the acquisition, Fortis will be one of the top 15 North American public utilities ranked by enterprise value, with an estimated enterprise value of C$42 billion (US$30 billion). On a pro forma basis, the consolidated mid year 2016 rate base of Fortis would increase by approximately C$8 billion (US$6 billion) to approximately C$26 billion (US$18 billion), as a result of the Acquisition.

ITC Holdings is the largest independent electric transmission company in the United States. Based in Novi, Michigan, ITC invests in the electric transmission grid to improve reliability, expand access to markets, allow new generating resources to interconnect to its transmission systems and lower the overall cost of delivered energy. Through its regulated operating subsidiaries ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains, ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission facilities in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, serving a combined peak load exceeding 26,000 megawatts along approximately 15,600 circuit miles of transmission line. 

Mr. Barry Perry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis, stated:

"Fortis has grown its business through strategic acquisitions that have contributed to strong organic growth over the past decade. Our performance in 2015 is a clear demonstration of the success of this strategy," says Mr. Barry Perry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis. "The acquisition of ITC – a premier pure-play transmission utility – is a continuation of this growth strategy. ITC not only further strengthens and diversifies our business, but it also accelerates our growth."

To be more specific, under the terms of the acquisition, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, ITC shareholders will receive approximately US$6.9 billion in Fortis common shares and cash at closing and Fortis will assume approximately US$4.4 billion of consolidated ITC indebtedness.

Upon completion , ITC will become a subsidiary of Fortis and approximately 27% of the common shares of Fortis will be held by ITC shareholders. Fortis will apply to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange in connection with the acquisition and will continue to have its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX").

Joseph L. Welch, Chairman, President and CEO of ITC. commented:

"From the very beginning of ITC, we have been focused on creating meaningful value for all stakeholders, including customers, investors and employees, by becoming the leading electric transmission company in the U.S. Fortis is an outstanding company with a proven track record of successfully acquiring and managing U.S. based utilities in a decentralized manner. This transaction accomplishes our objectives by better positioning the company to have a higher level of focus on pursuing our long-term strategy of investing in transmission opportunities to improve reliability, expand access to power markets and allow new generating resources to interconnect to transmission systems and lower the overall cost of delivered energy for customers."

"I am forever grateful for the hard work of the ITC employees in building this great company and look forward to a bright future of continued operational excellence supported by the Fortis platform. We also very much appreciate the longstanding support of our investors who will receive an attractive premium for their investment and will also benefit from the opportunity to participate in the upside of the combination, including future value creation and a growing dividend program."