Market Institute Releases Report On Failed Merger In The Energy Industry

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Market Institute today released Destined to Fail: How Deception and Desperation Scuttled the Energy Transfer/Williams Merger, a deep-dive report chronicling the events of an ongoing legal battle between two American energy pipeline giants - the Williams Companies and Energy Transfer - over a failed 2016, $33 billion merger.

Destined to Fail is a case study on corporate governance and details Williams CEO Alan Armstrong's troubling behavior which may have cost his shareholders significant value. In recently filed court documents, North American Polypropylene and Energy Transfer have alleged Williams misdealings, with Mr. Armstrong at the center. And in the case of Williams near-merger with Energy Transfer, Mr. Armstrong allegedly worked with a former Williams official to undermine the deal, despite the merger having received support from more than 80% of the company's voting shares.

"As the American economy faces unprecedented challenges, there has been a renewed importance as to the value of strong corporate governance," said Charles Sauer, president and founder of the Market Institute.

"Shareholders, now more than ever, must be able to trust that corporate leadership is acting in their best interest. Based on what is found in the report, that is not the case of Alan Armstrong and Williams Cos. If history is any indicator, potential investors should think twice before supporting this kind of poor corporate leadership."

Destined to Fail breaks down the 5-year timeline of the case, and highlights key milestones from Armstrong withholding critical information from his own board regarding an internal merger and its impact on the Williams-ET merger, to leaking insider information to reporters through a secret email account and improper communications between Armstrong and a former employee. The report highlights an analysis of the dissolution of what would have been one of the largest mergers the energy industry had ever seen.

For more information, please visit http://marketinstitute.org/.

SOURCE Market Institute