Hawaii’s energy future could hinge on a June 10 vote by Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholders.
During a special meeting last month, a majority of the company’s shareholders voted in favor of the $4.3 billion sale of Hawaiian Electric Co. to Florida-based NextEra Energy. However, the 75 percent super-majority required by Hawaii law was not secured.
As a result, the voting deadline was extended one month.
“Each shareholder’s vote is important, so we’re extending the voting period to ensure shareholders have every opportunity to express their views,” Connie Lau, HEI’s president and chief executive officer and chairman of the boards of American Savings Bank and Hawaiian Electric, said in a statement.
HEI said a preliminary count indicated approximately 90 percent of the total votes cast, which represented approximately 70 percent of HEI’s outstanding shares, were in favor of the proposed merger. Shareholders representing about 23.7 million shares, or 22 percent of HEI’s total shares outstanding, have yet to vote.
In an email Monday, Marco Mangelsdorf, president of ProVision Solar and director of the Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative, a nonprofit group of Big Island community and business leaders exploring the idea of public ownership, said there was some surprise last month when the approval bar was not reached.
“It will be interesting to see whether HEI gets over the bar by next week,” he said. “If not, extending the vote again is a possibility, I would think. But extending the voting can only go on for so long until the procedural schedule is affected. It’s fair to say that we’re waiting on some pivotal news on the deal in the week to come.”
While publicly held companies commonly are allowed to proceed with a merger with a simple majority of their outstanding shares, HEI is required under Hawaii law to obtain approval from 75 percent.
HEI spokesman Cliff Chen said via email that it’s too early to speculate about whether the threshold would be reached by the June 10 meeting, but that the company is “encouraged” by the initial 90 percent approval percentage.
Chen did not respond to the Tribune-Herald’s question about whether a second extension could occur should HEI fail to secure the required votes.
In February, Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative filed a motion with the state Public Utilities Commission to intervene in the pending NextEra-HEI merger. The nonprofit is one of 29 entities granted intervenor status by the PUC.
In addition to HEI shareholders, the merger still must be approved by the PUC, as well as additional regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission signed off on the sale in late March.
This year, Hawaii legislators made a push to ensure community concerns are addressed and that the PUC exercises due diligence in making sure the acquisition is in the best interest of the public by introducing a series of resolutions related to the pending sale.
HEI’s special meeting of shareholders reconvenes at 10 a.m. June 10 at the American Savings Bank Tower in Honolulu.
Email Chris D’Angelo at cdangelo@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
