Exhibit 99.1
Connecticut Water Shareholders Approve SJW Group Merger Agreement
Transaction on Track to Close in First Quarter of 2019
CLINTON, Conn., November 16, 2018 – Connecticut Water Service, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTWS) today announced that its shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the Company’s proposed merger agreement with SJW Group (NYSE: SJW) at the Special Meeting of Shareholders held today.
Carol P. Wallace, Chairman of the Connecticut Water Service Board of Directors, said, “We appreciate the strong support from our shareholders and look forward to delivering significant value to our shareholders and meaningful benefits to our customers, employees and the communities we serve. Together with SJW Group, we will create a new leading, national, pure-play water company focused on reliability, superior service and environmental stewardship. Following the close of the transaction, Connecticut Water will continue to be led locally with a New England regional headquarters in Connecticut. The same trusted team of passionate, dedicated employees who support our company and operating utilities today will continue to support our company and operating utilities after the transaction closes. We are excited about our future with SJW Group.”
Approximately 92.5% of the shares voted at the Special Meeting were voted in favor of the SJW Group merger agreement, representing approximately 68.7% of Connecticut Water’s outstanding common stock entitled to vote at the Special Meeting. Connecticut Water will file the final vote results, as certified by the independent Inspector of Election, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on a Form8-K.
The transaction remains on track to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. As previously announced, the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act was terminated early on April 27, 2018. Applications to obtain regulatory approvals of the merger were filed with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Maine Public Utilities Commission on July 18, 2018 and May 4, 2018, respectively.
Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Connecticut Water’s shareholders will receive $70.00 in cash for each share of Connecticut Water common stock owned.
About CTWS
CTWS is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Clinton, Connecticut. CTWS is the parent company of The Connecticut Water Company, The Maine Water Company, The Avon Water Company, and The Heritage Village Water Company. Together, these subsidiaries provide water service to more than 450,000 people in Connecticut and Maine, and wastewater service to more than 10,000 people in Connecticut.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “strategy,” or “anticipates,” or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology.
