Merger to create $72B utility giant

Key Takeaways:

• Emera and Canadian Utilities will merge in a $72-billion enterprise value deal, forming a Top 20 North American utility with $45 billion in rate base and six million customers.
• ATCO will spin off its housing, defense, and logistics businesses into a separate publicly traded company, New ATCO, led by Chair and CEO Nancy Southern.
• The merged utility will operate as Emera under CEO Scott Balfour, maintaining public headquarters in Halifax and corporate hubs in Calgary, Edmonton, Tampa, and Perth.

The Whole Story:

Halifax-based Emera and Calgary-based Canadian Utilities Limited have entered into a definitive agreement to combine, creating a North American energy utility and infrastructure powerhouse with a combined enterprise value of approximately $72 billion.

The transaction, valued at approximately $14.3 billion for the acquisition of Canadian Utilities shares, will rank among the largest utility mergers in Canadian corporate history. The combined entity will oversee $45 billion in rate base assets and serve roughly six million customers across 12 regulated utilities operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

In a parallel restructuring, parent company ATCO will spin off its non-utility assets into a standalone, publicly traded industrial services firm. The new entity will hold ATCO’s modular housing (ATCO Structures), defense support (ATCO Frontec), port logistics, and retail energy operations.

The merged company will retain the Emera corporate name. Public corporate headquarters will remain in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while Canadian Utilities’ corporate and operational offices will continue in Calgary, Edmonton, and Perth, Australia. Emera’s U.S. operations will remain headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Emera President and CEO Scott Balfour will serve as CEO of the combined utility. ATCO Chair and CEO Nancy Southern will serve as Co-Chair of the Board alongside current Emera Chair Karen Sheriff. Southern will also serve as Chair and CEO of the newly spun-off New ATCO.

“This merger creates a Canadian utility and energy infrastructure powerhouse with the scale, financial capacity and expertise to invest in the systems our customers will rely on for decades,” said Scott Balfour, President and CEO of Emera. “As demand rises from electrification trends and major infrastructure development, the combined company will be better positioned to help meet growing energy needs and power Canada’s growth ambitions.”

Nancy Southern, Chair and CEO of ATCO, emphasized the dual-entity strategy: “ATCO shareowners will participate in two focused and compelling companies. The combined Emera/Canadian Utilities company will have the scale, capabilities and capital to invest in critical energy and infrastructure projects… while New ATCO will be positioned to accelerate growth in housing, defence and industrial services.”

Closing is targeted for the third or fourth quarter of 2027.