This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purposes of Emera’s prospectus supplement dated November 14, 2023, to its short form base shelf prospectus dated October 3, 2023.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia & BATON ROUGE, La. & ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., August 05, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Emera Inc. (“Emera”) (TSX:EMA), an international energy and services company, today announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its wholly owned operating company, New Mexico Gas Company, Inc. (“NMGC”), to Bernhard Capital Partners (“BCP”), a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm, for an aggregate transaction value of $1.252 billion USD, including the assumption of approximately $500 million USD of debt and subject to customary closing adjustments.

“This transaction strengthens Emera’s balance sheet, supports our ambitious capital plan and reinforces our strategic decision to optimize our portfolio and reallocate capital to our highest growth markets to drive long-term value for our shareholders,” says Scott Balfour, President and CEO, Emera Inc. “New Mexico Gas is a strong regulated utility with a customer-focused team. We’re proud of the work we have done together over the past eight years to drive customer growth and enable nearly $800 million USD in strategic capital investments to expand and maintain a safe, reliable system that will serve New Mexicans for decades to come.”

Emera acquired NMGC as part of its acquisition of the TECO group of companies in 2016. Under Emera’s ownership, NMGC has grown and remains the largest natural gas utility in New Mexico, serving over 545,000 customers and safely managing more than 12,000 miles of transmission and distribution pipelines.

“As an operator of premium electric and gas utilities in high-growth jurisdictions, we have compelling opportunities ahead of us, driven by electrification, decarbonization and the need for increased resilience against climate-related challenges,” adds Balfour. “We will move forward to execute on these opportunities with a stronger balance sheet, a more focused operating model and a disciplined capital investment plan.”

The purchase price and transaction value respectively represent approximately 23x last 12 months earnings and 1.42x rate base. Estimated after-tax net proceeds of approximately $750 million USD will be used to repay holding company debt and support its investment opportunities in its regulated utility businesses. The transaction is expected to improve the company’s CFO to debt metrics by 50 bps and reduce its proportion of holding company leverage by 200 bps.

“This investment directly aligns with Bernhard Capital’s strategy to invest in infrastructure assets and utilities that are critical to building more resilient communities,” says Jeff Jenkins, Founder and Partner at Bernhard Capital Partners. “We value the strong history of New Mexico Gas Company and are committed to retaining the invaluable institutional knowledge of its employees. The leadership team and all employees will remain in place after closing, and we anticipate creating approximately 70 new, local jobs. Our priority is ensuring the continuation of reliable, affordable natural gas service to customers and communities across the state. This agreement also reinforces our commitment to fostering economic opportunities and growth in New Mexico. Albuquerque-based Strategic Management Solutions (SMSI), another BCP portfolio company, has operated in New Mexico for 25 years and generated both positive economic growth and job opportunities across the state.”

BCP has an extensive operation footprint across the United States. It also recently announced agreements to acquire multiple leading natural gas LDCs that serve communities in the Gulf South. To date, BCP has invested in nearly 70 companies across 20 platforms, including several utility companies, that collectively employ approximately 20,000 people globally.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (“NMPRC”) and pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The transaction is expected to close in late 2025, but will not close before September 30, 2025, unless otherwise authorized by the NMPRC.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Emera in this transaction. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as Emera’s legal advisor. Jefferies LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Bernhard Capital with Kirkland & Ellis LLP serving as their legal advisor.

About Emera
Emera is a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia with approximately $39 billion in assets and 2023 revenues of $7.6 billion. The company primarily invests in regulated electricity generation and electricity and gas transmission and distribution, with a strategic focus on transformation from high carbon to low carbon energy sources. Emera has investments in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

About Bernhard Capital Partners
Bernhard Capital Partners is a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm established in 2013. Bernhard Capital Partners has deployed capital in four funds across several strategies and has more than $4 billion of gross assets under management. Bernhard Capital Partners seeks to create sustainable value by leveraging its experience in acquiring, operating, and growing services and infrastructure businesses. For more information, visit www.BernhardCapital.com.

Forward Looking Information
This news release contains forward‐looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements concerning Bernhard Capital Partners’ acquisition of NMGC and the timing for closing. Undue reliance should not be placed on this forward-looking information, which applies only as of the date hereof. By its nature, forward‐looking information requires Emera to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect Emera management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to Emera management. There is a risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections that constitute forward‐looking information will not prove to be accurate, that Emera’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward‐looking information. Additional detailed information about these assumptions, risks and uncertainties is included in Emera’s securities regulatory filings, including under the heading “Business Risks and Risk Management” in Emera’s annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and under the heading “Principal Risks and Uncertainties” in the notes to Emera’s annual and interim financial statements, which can be found on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240805118025/en/

Contacts

Emera Media
Dina Bartolacci Seely
media@emera.com

Bernhard Capital Partners Media
Ed Trissel / Erik Carlson
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449

The National Interagency Fire Center predicts New Mexico will have typical wildfire risk in August, but it could increase in September and October. (Photo courtesy NIFC)

New Mexico’s respite from wildfires will likely continue through August, according to a new forecast, but experts warn the already long fire season here could stretch into September and October. 

The National Interagency Fire Center publishes monthly fire risk outlooks across the country. Early monsoon rains in early July blunted what forecasters had predicted would be elevated wildfire risk across the state, particularly in the central mountain chain and in southern New Mexico. 

But the new forecast released Aug. 1 shows that average temperatures and substantial precipitation mean New Mexico won’t have high fire risk for August, either. But that doesn’t mean New Mexico is out of the woods. 

“An uptick in large fire activity very well could re-emerge by late August or early September, then linger much longer than usual,” forecasters wrote in their predictions for the Southwest area.

Fire season in the Southwest typically lasts until monsoon season. The forecasts this year have said hot, dry conditions might persist well into October, bucking that typical trend. 

At the moment in New Mexico, there are two active fires, according to the Southwest Coordination Center, including the Tanques Fire in the Southwest Fire, which has burned about 6,500 acres. In the Gila National Forest, the Ridge Fire has burned about 4,200 acres. 

The forecast is released as major wildfires burn elsewhere in the West. There are 94 large, uncontained wildfires across the country, according to the NIFC.

Four fires that began last month in Oregon and California each have burned more than 100,000 acres, including the Park Fire in northern California that has reached nearly 400,000 acres. That’s already bigger than New Mexico’s biggest-ever wildfire, which burned about 340,000 acres, and it’s just 24% contained, according to the NIFC. 

So far in New Mexico this year, 580 wildfires have been detected that burned more than 84,000 acres.

A new practical support tool for patients traveling to New Mexico and Colorado for an abortion launched as a pilot project connected to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains last week.  Organizers launched a new nonprofit organization called Gloria. It connects abortion patients traveling long distances to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Denver to a short-term […]

A new practical support tool for patients traveling to New Mexico and Colorado for an abortion launched as a pilot project connected to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains last week. 

Organizers launched a new nonprofit organization called Gloria. It connects abortion patients traveling long distances to Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Denver to a short-term rental host with a vacation rental vacancy. The platform is the first of its kind by coordinating short-term rental properties with abortion patients.

Toshiko Langford, who is the director of impact and analytics for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, founded Gloria. She told NM Political Report that after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, there was an outpouring of financial support but now, two years later, donor fatigue has led to a tapering off of donations. 

Adrienne Mansanares, president and chief executive officer of PPRM, told NM Political Report that PPRM saw considerable donations after the Texas six-week gestational ban in 2021 and then a “huge surge” in donations after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. But donors’ sense of urgency in providing funding for travel costs for those traveling long distances for an abortion has tapered off, she said.

Mansanares said grass roots organizations who help with abortion patient traveling are the ones who have experienced the decrease in funding the most. Mansanares said contributions to PPRM are stable, but Planned Parenthood has a decades-long, national brand and a robust development program. 

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But, even as donor fatigue has set in, New Mexico has, within the Rocky Mountain region, by far the greatest influx of abortion patients coming from out of state, Langford said. In 2023, 14,000 patients traveled from Texas to New Mexico for abortion care. Langford said a large proportion of those 14,000 needed lodging because of how far they are traveling.

Mansanares said PPRM has expanded its services and hours so that a local patient can expect to get the appointment they need without long waits. But still more than half of PPRM abortion care patients are traveling from out of state, so it’s a continuing crisis, Mansanares said. 

She said an additional crisis PPRM is battling now is a spike in delayed abortion care, which can lead to more challenges for the patient but it’s also harder on the providers.

“It’s better to get healthcare when the patient wants and needs it and not delay that care,” Mansanares said. 

Gloria is also a response to a phenomenon Langford saw on social media platforms shortly after Roe fell. Individuals were offering rides and places to stay but, while it was “a beautiful outpouring of support,” it wasn’t usable by patients, Langford said. 

Langford said it became very clear to her there needed to be a way to coordinate that in-kind support so both sides could be vetted to ensure safety for everyone involved. 

Langford said Gloria can also help alleviate the decrease in donor funding by providing in-kind donations from short-term rental hosts. She said she’s seen patients forgoing car payments in order to come up with the travel funds necessary but, even then, the patient often doesn’t have the additional resources to pay for lodging. 

Langford said she’s seen patients drive 17 hours across the state of Texas and a part of New Mexico to arrive in Albuquerque for an abortion appointment and then turn around and drive those same 17 hours back across the two states to return home.

“So many patients are forgoing basic needs in order to finance their travel as well as the procedure and they’re doing pretty drastic things. We just want to support them,” Langford said. 

She said there’s a “huge community” who have resources which have not been tapped into to help patients. Langford said it was in her role at PPRM that she first realized the gap between short-term rental hosts who were offering to lend a night or two stay in a vacant rental property but that there was no infrastructure in place to coordinate the hosts to the patients. 

Langford said the host and the patient are connected through a secure app and no personal information is shared. The hosts and the patient do not meet in order to ensure privacy and security. The patient and their families have the entire rental property to themselves during the stay, also to ensure privacy and security, Langford said.

Mansanares said the houses are lovely vacation homes.

The patient is able to stay in a home and that can be helpful, especially when a patient is traveling with small children or other family members. It can also be helpful if the patient has a flight out after a procedural abortion and wants to return to the rental house to relax instead of waiting long hours at the airport for the flight.

Langford called the current roll out a pilot project and said that, so far, there are six hosts on Gloria. The platform is limited to patients who seek services at PPRM clinics in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Denver. But, she said, the goal is to expand not just across the region but nationally. She also hopes to expand so that other abortion clinics can rely on Gloria to direct patients who need lodging when traveling for an abortion. She hopes to begin scaling up the project by October. 

Mansanares said another benefit from the creation of Gloria is that its work helps to destigmatize abortion care. 

“People in the community have something to give, they want to pitch in but they may not have the funds to donate or they have the funds, but they want to do more. This seeks a solution that’s outside of traditional systems,” she said.