Agreement and Plan of Merger
On September 17,2018, EEM, Enbridge, Winter Acquisition Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge (“Merger Sub”), and, solely for the purposes of Article I, Section 2.4 and Article X, EECI, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will be merged with and into EEM (the “Merger”), with EEM continuing as the sole surviving entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each Listed Share of EEM (each, an “EEM Listed Share”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, other than certain excluded EEM Listed Shares owned by Enbridge and its subsidiaries, will be converted into, and become exchangeable for, 0.335 common shares of Enbridge (“Enbridge Common Stock”).
The special committee (the “Special Committee”) of the board of directors of EEM (in such capacity, the “Board”) has, acting in good faith, unanimously, (i) determined, based upon the facts and circumstances it deemed relevant, reasonable or appropriate to its decision, that the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, and the limited liability company agreement of EEM (the “Company Agreement” and, as amended, the “Company Agreement Amendment”) are fair and reasonable to EEM, including the holders of EEM Listed Shares (other than Enbridge and its affiliates) (the “Public Shareholders”), (ii) approved the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby and the Company Agreement Amendment, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, and (iii) recommended that the Board approve the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby and the Company Agreement Amendment. Based upon such recommendation, the Board has, acting in good faith, unanimously (i) determined that the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, and the Company Agreement Amendment are fair and reasonable to EEM, including the Public Shareholders, (ii) approved the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby and the Company Agreement Amendment, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, and (iii) resolved to recommend that holders of EEM Listed Shares approve the Merger Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby and the Company Agreement Amendment, and waive Section 9.05(a)(v) of the limited liability company agreement of EEM (the “Company Agreement”), and directed that the Merger Agreement be submitted to the holders of EEM Listed Shares for their approval.
EEM has agreed, subject to certain exceptions with respect to unsolicited proposals, not to, directly or indirectly, solicit, enter into discussions concerning, provide nonpublic information in connection with or otherwise facilitate any effort or attempt to make any competing acquisition proposals. However, the Special Committee may, subject to certain conditions, change its recommendation in favor of approval of the Merger Agreement if, in connection with the receipt of a superior proposal or an event occurring after the date of the Merger Agreement that was not known by or reasonably foreseeable to the Special Committee at the time of the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Special Committee determines in good faith, after consultation with its outside counsel and its financial advisor, that
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the failure to take such action would be materially adverse to the interests of EEM or the Public Shareholders or would otherwise be reasonably likely to be inconsistent with its duties under applicable law or obligations under the Company Agreement.
The approval of the Merger Agreement requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding EEM Listed Shares held by the Public Shareholders (the “Shareholder Approval”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Enbridge has agreed that, at the EEM shareholder meeting, it will vote, or cause to be voted, all EEM securities then owned beneficially or of record by it or any of its subsidiaries, in favor of (i) the approval of the Merger Agreement and (ii) for purposes of determining the manner in which the IUnits of EEP are voted, the approval of the Merger Agreement.
The completion of the Merger is subject to the concurrent consummation of the merger of Winter Acquisition Sub II, LLC with and into Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (“EEP”), with EEP continuing as the sole surviving entity. The completion of the Merger is also subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including: (i) receipt of the Shareholder Approval, (ii) the Enbridge Common Stock issuable in connection with the Merger having been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, (iii) expiration or termination of any waiting period (and any extension thereof) applicable to the Merger under the HartScott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, (iv) the absence of any governmental order prohibiting the consummation of the Merger or the other transactions contemplated thereby, and (v) Enbridge’s registration statement on Form S4 (the “Registration Statement”) having become effective under the Securities Act of 1933. The obligation of each party to the Merger Agreement to consummate the Merger is also conditioned upon the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the other parties as of the date of the Merger Agreement and as of the closing (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), the performance in all material respects by the other parties of all obligations required to be performed by them under the Merger Agreement at or prior to closing, and receipt of an officer’s certificate evidencing the satisfaction of the foregoing.
Each of Enbridge, Merger Sub and EEM have made customary representations and warranties, and agreed to customary covenants, in the Merger Agreement. Subject to certain exceptions, Enbridge and EEM have each agreed, among other things, to covenants relating to the conduct of their respective businesses during the interim period between the execution of the Merger Agreement and the consummation of the Merger.
The Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights that may be exercised by either Enbridge or EEM, including in the event that (i) both parties agree by mutual written consent by action of the board of directors of Enbridge and the Board, with the approval of the Special Committee, to terminate the Merger Agreement, (ii) the Merger is not consummated by March 18,2019, (iii) the Shareholder Approval is not obtained at the EEM shareholder meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof taken in accordance with the Merger Agreement, (iv) any order permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting consummation of the Merger having become final and nonappealable or (v) the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 17,2018, by and among EEP, EECI, EEM, Enbridge, EUSI, Winter Acquisition Sub II, LLC, and solely for the purposes of Articles I, II and XI, EUSHI is terminated in accordance with its terms. In addition, Enbridge may terminate the Merger Agreement if the Special Committee changes its recommendation with respect to approval of the Merger Agreement prior to receipt of the Shareholder Approval. If the Merger Agreement is terminated under certain circumstances, Enbridge may be required to reimburse EEM for its transaction expenses in an amount not to exceed US$4 million.
The foregoing description of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the actual Merger Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 2.2 to Enbridge’s Current Report on Form 8K filed with the SEC on September 18,2018 and Exhibit 2.1 to the Issuer’s Current Report on Form 8K filed with the SEC on September 18,2018, and the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.