Noha Sidhom to Present at Platts 6th Utility M&A Conference in New York City

Monday, May 21, 2012
Washington, DC

Pierce Atwood attorney Noha Sidhom will be a presenter at the upcoming Platts 6th Utility M&A Conference to be held June 25-26 in New York City.  The conference will feature industry experts as they share their views on current M&A activity now that the dust has settled from the 2008 financial crisis. Noha’s panel, “Weeding through the Regulatory Uncertainty Impacting M&A Deals,” will be held on the first day of the conference and will cover the recent changes in FERC’s analysis and some of the larger M&A deals.

Specifically, the panel will discuss:

  • Regulatory requirements for approval, including valuation impacts and anticipated rate reduction
  • Are there really any “merger synergies” in utility mergers when the analysis is performed in an unbiased manner?
  • What kinds of deals are possible in the regulated space?
    • Examples of deals that fail to obtain state approvals and lessons learned
  • Has the impending expiration of tax credits spurred a “hurry up and buy” attitude in the renewable sector?
  • How has the tightening of emissions standards and environmental compliance affected M&A activity?
    • CSAPR and MATS rules and their impact on deal flow
  • What are regulators doing about containing rates for rate payers?
  • What are the differences in the regulatory process for a new utility versus an existing one?