Ropes & Gray Advises Aquarion Water and Eversource Energy in Acquisition of The Torrington Water Company

Ropes & Gray represented Aquarion Water Company, and water utility firm owner Eversource Energy, in an agreement to acquire The Torrington Water Company (TWC), a water distribution company based in Connecticut. Aquarion will acquire all outstanding shares of TWC, and TWC will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aquarion. The transaction was announced on March 8.

Aquarion is a water distribution company and holding company based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, providing regulated water service to customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. TWC is a water distribution company based in Torrington, Connecticut providing regulated water service to Connecticut customers.

Under the agreement, stockholders of TWC will receive common shares of Eversource Energy in exchange for their TWC common stock. The exchange ratio implies a $92.81 per share price based on the $86.66 closing price of Eversource common shares on March 7. In connection with the exchange, Eversource will issue between 885,000 and 925,000 common shares at closing.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by capital markets associate Evan Tallmadge and partner Marko Zatylny and included tax partner Pam Glazier and tax counsel Michael Mendelevich (all of Boston).