Williams Shareholders Opt for ETE Deal
June 27 2016 - 10:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford
Williams Cos. said more than two-thirds of its shareholders
voted to accept an embattled deal with rival Energy Transfer Equity
LP, a deal that may not happen because of a court ruling last
week.
Williams recommended that its shareholders vote in favor of the
takeover by Energy Transfer. On Friday, a Delaware judge ruled that
Energy Transfer can get out of the deal after its lawyers said they
had discovered negative tax consequences.
Over all, 68.4% of Williams shareholders voted to accept the
deal, with the vast majority choosing the $43.50 in cash option,
with small numbers of shareholders picking an all-stock or a
cash-stock option.
Williams has spent months arguing publicly that investors would
be better off going through with the deal, even as Energy Transfer
did everything it could to get out.
Energy Transfer struck a deal in September that was worth $33
billion at the time. But as oil prices continued to slide, Energy
Transfer had second thoughts.
When Energy Transfer said its lawyers had found a potential tax
pitfall and wouldn't be able to deliver a crucial opinion needed
for the deal to close, Williams accused its acquirer of looking for
an escape hatch. It sued to force Energy Transfer to go through
with the merger, but Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the
Delaware Court of Chancery sided with Energy Transfer on Friday,
finding that its lawyers were acting in good faith when they found
the issue.
Shares of Williams Cos. fell 3.6% to $20.53 as Energy Transfer
Shares Rose 1.9% to $14.10 in morning trading.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 27, 2016 10:23 ET (14:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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