The acrimonious proposed merger between The Williams Companies, Inc. and Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. continues to unravel, with the filing of a new lawsuit by Williams in a Delaware state court.
Williams announced late Friday that it filed a declaratory judgment action to prevent the company from terminating the controversial merger and forcing ETE to conclude the deal by June.
Dallas-based ETE agreed to a $32.6 billion purchase of Williams under terms of a merger agreement dated September 28, 2015. Since that time, the energy sector has suffered an economic downturn that would substantially reduce the financial impact and cost savings associated with the merger.
Several lawsuits have been filed disputing the merger including one in Dallas County, Texas by the Williams board challenging a private stock offering disclosed by ETE on March 9, 2016.
Last week, ETE’s Chief Executive Officer, Kelcy Warren, stated that the deal could not be closed without significant changes.
In this latest lawsuit filed on Friday, Williams implied that ETE is trying to kill the deal.
“The Williams Board is unanimously committed to enforcing Williams’ rights under the Merger Agreement entered into with ETE on September 28, 2015 and to delivering the benefits of the Merger Agreement to Williams’ stockholders,” stated the company in its press release.
The Williams Board continues to support the merger despite its allegations against ETE.
