Pennichuck Acquisition

Nashua’s Proposed Acquisition of Pennichuck Corporation Update

Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Decision — Pennichuck Acquisition Approved November 23, 2011

I have always opposed the City’s efforts to take Pennichuck Water Works by Eminent Domain, but I acknowledge the importance of protecting our most valuable commodity – Water. Now that the PUC has determined it is in the Public’s best interest I will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of Nashua’s residents addressing their concerns to ensure safe, reliable and affordable water service.

Most of Nashua’s drinking water is provided by Pennichuck Water Works, and has been since the company’s inception in 1852. Throughout the years, and still today, many of the people who operate Pennichuck and make decisions about the future of our drinking water are neighbors and friends. The citizens of Nashua think of Pennichuck as a local business.

Since the 1970s and the Clean Water Act, our nation has become increasingly aware of the fragility of drinking water, and how our actions influence its quality and quantity. In the early 1980s, Pennichuck reorganized, and with that reorganization came the approval by the Public Utilities Commission to dispose of approximately 1,100 acres of watershed land and build a water treatment plant. Since that time, a significant amount of the 1,100 acres has been developed.

In the 1990s the citizens and policy leaders of the City became more and more concerned with Pennichuck Corporation’s need to “balance between watershed protection and economic growth,” as expressed by then-CEO Maurice Arel. In response to those concerns, the City of Nashua passed the Water Supply Protection District ordinance to increase protection of the watershed. The City then purchased 250 acres plus 41 acres of conservation easement from Pennichuck Corporation to protect the land from being developed by Pennichuck Corporation.

In April 2002 Pennichuck Corporation announced its agreement to merge with Philadelphia Suburban, the second largest water company in our nation, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. As a result, the City filed as interveners with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), contracted consultants to provide information to ensure knowledgeable decision-making, and engaged in negotiations with other communities regarding the possibility of a regional water district.

In the nearly seven years since that vote, City leaders have pursued both taking the utility by eminent domain and negotiating a private buyout of the company’s stock.

It was announced on Friday Nov. 12th, 2010 that the city has signed a Definitive Merger Agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Pennichuck Corporation (Nasdaq: PNNW) for a price of $29.00 per share, or approximately $138 million in cash. Under the proposed acquisition, the city will acquire control of all of the company assets, liabilities (approximately $60 million) and businesses, including the land comprising the watershed of the Pennichuck Brook and the three regulated water utilities owned by the company.

View the presentation from the November 15, 2010 Public Information Session

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