Iberdrola’s $3 Billion UIL Takeover Rejected by Connecticut

Connecticut regulators rejected Iberdrola SA’s $3 billion acquisition of UIL Holdings Corp. in a preliminary decision, saying it wasn’t clear how the new Spanish owner planned to run the company.

“Iberdrola’s record of mergers and divestitures in the region is mixed,” the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority wrote in the decision, which went on to question Iberdrola’s commitment to the local business distributing gas and electricity. “The change of control request is in effect asking for the authority’s and Connecticut ratepayers’ leap of faith into an unknown situation.”