Connecticut Water Co. suitor rebuffs rival’s takeover bid

Clinton utility’s deal with SJW Group continues to advance

The board of directors of a San Jose, Calif.-based company seeking to acquire Clinton’s Connecticut Water Service has rebuffed another attempt to be acquired itself.

Officials with SJW Group said Friday its board has rejected a revised offer from California Water Service Group to acquire it .

California Water, which is also headquartered in San Jose, announced on Aug. 13 it had upped its offer to acquire all of SJW Group’s common stock to $70 per share. The utility previously had offered $68.25 per share.

“All of us on the Board of SJW Group take our fiduciary responsibilities to stockholders seriously and after a deliberate and thorough review, we have concluded that Cal Water’s revised proposal is neither the most compelling nor the most certain path forward for our stockholders, or for our customers, employees and the communities we serve,” Robert Van Valer, the lead independent director of SJW Group’s board of directors, said in a statement. “We remain confident that SJW Group will create more value for our stockholders and deliver greater benefits to all of our stakeholders by proceeding with the immediately and increasingly accretive combination with Connecticut Water.”

Martin Kropelnicki, president and chief executive officer of California Water, called the decision by the SJW board “unfortunate.”

“California Water is financially disciplined, and after repeated attempts to engage with the SJW Board of Directors, we believe it is in our stockholders’ best interests to withdraw our proposal and focus on other opportunities,” Kropelnicki said in a statement. “Although we are disappointed by their unwillingness to engage, we are confident we have an excellent growth strategy in place that will continue to deliver long-term stockholder value.”

SJW’s current offer to Connecticut Water is to purchase all of the outstanding shares of the Clinton-based company for $70 per share. That offer was announced on Aug. 6.

Connecticut Water’s board has been faced with repeated attempts by Eversource Energy to acquire it. Eversource, which already owns Aquarion, one of Connecticut’s largest water companies, has been trying to convince Connecticut Water shareholders to withdraw their support for the SJW Group offer.

The SJW-Connecticut Water deal, which is scheduled to close in the first quarter of next year, currently is before the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission.

Connecticut Water serves 450,000 people in this state and Maine. In Connecticut, the utility serves 56 towns, including 10 in the New Haven area. The company also provides wastewater service to more than 10,000 people in Connecticut.

SJW Group is the parent company of San Jose Water, SJW Land Co. and SJWTX Inc. San Jose Water and SJWTX provide water service to more than one million people in San Jose and surrounding communities as well as in the Canyon Lake, Texas, area, between San Antonio and Austin.

SJW Land Co. owns and operates commercial real estate investments.