Adds Ancora's comment
April 17 (Reuters) - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp'sAQN.TO deal to buy the Kentucky operations of American Electric Power AEP.O has fallen through, the companies said on Monday, following multiple delays since its announcement nearly 1-1/2 years ago.
The companies decided to terminate the deal as they could not meet the conditions that were set prior to closing the sale before April 26, AEP said in a statement.
AEP was expected to receive about $1.2 billion in cash, net of taxes and transaction fees, from the sale following a $200 million cut in value in September last year.
Ancora Holdings Group, a shareholder of Algonquin Power, said it was pleased with Algonquin's decision to terminate the "poorly-conceived" transaction following months of widespread pushback from shareholders.
It further added that the utilities firm's leadership needed to establish momentum and execute its previously disclosed plan to sell $1 billion in assets.
Algonquin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company had lowered its dividend in January and said it was targeting additional asset sales to reduce debt.
AEP's Kentucky operations include Kentucky Power, a utility that serves 165,000 customers and Kentucky Transco, a regulated transmission business.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose and Arshreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Anil D'Silva)
((Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com; Arshreet.Singh@thomsonreuters.com))
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