CALGARY – Shareholders have voted in favour of Enbridge’s $37-billion takeover of Spectra Energy in what will be the largest acquisition of a foreign company in Canadian history.
The all-stock deal, if approved by regulators, will bring together Enbridge’s extensive oil-focused pipeline portfolio with Spectra’s sizable natural gas pipelines and infrastructure to form a company that was projected to have a combined value of $165 billion when it was announced in September.
Enbridge shareholders voted more than 99 per cent in favour of the deal, while Spectra shareholders at a special meeting voted 98 per cent in favour of the deal.
Al Monaco, chief executive of Enbridge, said the company continues to work on regulatory approvals and expects the deal to close in the first quarter of next year.
Enbridge says the combined company will have a $74-billion inventory of projects, including the $7.5-billion Line 3 Replacement Project the federal government approved in early December.
Under the terms of the deal, Spectra shareholders will receive 0.984 Enbridge shares for each common Spectra share they own, with Enbridge shareholders expected to own 57 per cent of the combined company and Spectra shareholders the rest.