425

Filed by Enbridge Inc. (Commission File No. 001-15254)

Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended

Subject Company: Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P.

(Commission File No.: 001-10934)

The following is an email sent by Al Monaco, Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge Inc., to all employees of Enbridge Inc. on September 24, 2018.

 

 

 

LOGO

Sent to all members of the Enbridge team

Colleagues,

As you know, an important part of our strategic priorities is to simplify our corporate structure. Last week we got a lot closer to that goal!

In case you missed it, last Tuesday we reached agreements to acquire the public’s interest in three of our sponsored vehicles: Enbridge Income Fund Holdings (ENF), Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) and Enbridge Energy Management (EEQ). This came on the heels of the Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) deal, which we announced in August. So that makes a total of four vehicles we’re buying in.

Let me summarize what this is all about and why we’re doing it:

 

   

First, with these deals we’re buying the remaining part of the assets we already own – highly strategic and profitable businesses that will be with us for a long time;

 

   

We’re simplifying our corporate structure so that all of our assets are under one roof. That will make Enbridge easier to understand for our investors. As one external analyst put it “we’ve created one, big happy family”;

 

   

It drives financial benefits and further strengthens our balance sheet and credit rating so that we can position ourselves for future growth; and

 

   

It will significantly reduce administrative burden and complexity in our business so we can focus our full attention on what drives the core of what we do—safety, operational reliability and serving our customers.

So what’s next? In the coming weeks we’ll file the documents required to bring the ENF, EEP and EEQ deals to a vote by the respective unitholders and shareholders. Our hope is to hold the votes in Q4 this year.

For the vast majority of employees, these deals will have little impact on your day-to-day jobs, as Enbridge will continue to operate the assets as we do now.

Finally, this marks another step towards executing on our priorities. Please join me in thanking those involved for getting these deals to this point.

Please take the time to read more about these transactions in the News Release section of our website.

Al


Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Enbridge Inc. (“Enbridge”), Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (“EEP”), Enbridge Energy Management, L.L.C. (“EEQ”), Spectra Energy Partners, LP (“SEP”), and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (“ENF” and, together with EEP, EEQ and SEP, the “Sponsored Vehicles”). These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as: anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, continue, should, could, may, plan, project, predict, will, potential, forecast and similar expressions and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected closing, consummation, completion, timing and benefits of the acquisitions of the Sponsored Vehicles (collectively, the “Proposed Transactions”), the expected synergies and equityholder value to result from the combined companies, the expected levels of cash distributions or dividends by the Sponsored Vehicles to their respective shareholders or unitholders, the expected levels of dividends by Enbridge to its shareholders, the expected financial results of Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles and their respective affiliates, and the future credit ratings, financial condition and business strategy of Enbridge, its Sponsored Vehicles and their respective affiliates.

Although Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions include assumptions about the following: the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (“NGL”) and renewable energy; prices of crude oil, natural gas, NGL and renewable energy; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; availability and price of labor and construction materials; operational reliability; customer and regulatory approvals; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for projects; anticipated in-service dates; weather; the timing and closing of dispositions; the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the Proposed Transactions; governmental legislation; acquisitions and the timing thereof; the success of integration plans; impact of capital project execution on future cash flows; credit ratings; capital project funding; expected earnings; expected future cash flows; and estimated future dividends. Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGL and renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for Enbridge’s and its Sponsored Vehicles’ services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation and interest rates impact the economies and business environments and may impact levels of demand for Enbridge’s and its Sponsored Vehicles’ services and cost of inputs, and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of these macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty, particularly with respect to the impact of the Proposed Transactions, expected earnings and cash flow or estimated future dividends.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement including, but not limited to: the risk that the Proposed Transactions do not occur; negative effects from the pendency of the Proposed Transactions; the ability to realize expected cost savings and benefits from the Proposed Transactions; the timing to consummate the Proposed Transactions; whether the Sponsored Vehicles or Enbridge will produce sufficient cash flows to provide the level of cash distributions they expect with respect to their respective units or shares; outcomes of litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; operating performance of Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles; regulatory


parameters regarding Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles; other Enbridge dispositions; project approval and support; renewals of rights of way; weather, economic and competitive conditions; public opinion; changes in tax laws and tax rates; changes in trade agreements, exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices, political decisions and supply of and demand for commodities; and any other risks and uncertainties discussed herein or in Enbridge’s or its Sponsored Vehicles’ other filings with Canadian and United States securities regulators. All forward-looking statements in this communication are made as of the date hereof and, except to the extent required by applicable law, neither Enbridge nor any of the Sponsored Vehicles assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this communication or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Enbridge, its Sponsored Vehicles or persons acting on their behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The factors described above, as well as additional factors that could affect Enbridge’s or any of its Sponsored Vehicles’ respective forward-looking statements, are described under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information” in Enbridge’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Canadian securities regulators on February 16, 2018, each of EEP’s, EEQ’s and SEP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which were filed with the SEC on February 16, 2018, ENF’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with Canadian securities regulators on February 16, 2018, and in Enbridge’s and its Sponsored Vehicles’ respective other filings made with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators, which are available via the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov and at http://www.sedar.com, as applicable.

Additional Information about Enbridge and the Proposed Transactions and Where to Find It

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any proxies or approval. The Proposed Transactions will be submitted to the shareholders of EEQ or ENF or unitholders of EEP or SEP, as applicable, for their consideration. Enbridge will file with the SEC proxy statements of EEQ and EEP, respectively, and a consent statement of SEP, each of which will also constitute a prospectus of Enbridge. Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles also plan to file other documents with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators regarding the Proposed Transactions. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF ENBRIDGE AND ITS SPONSORED VEHICLES ARE URGED TO READ THE APPLICABLE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROXY OR CONSENT SOLICITATION STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC OR CANADIAN SECURITIES REGULATORS, AS APPLICABLE, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS. Investors, shareholders and unitholders will be able to obtain free copies of such documents containing important information about Enbridge and its Sponsored Vehicles once such documents are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov or with Canadian securities regulators through the SEDAR website at http://www.sedar.com, as applicable. Copies can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Enbridge Inc., 200, 425 – 1st Street S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 3L8, Attention: Investor Relations.

Participants in the Solicitations

Enbridge, each of its Sponsored Vehicles, and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, may be deemed participants in the solicitation of consents or proxies from the holders of equity securities of the Sponsored Vehicles in connection with the Proposed Transactions. Information about the directors and executive officers of Enbridge is set forth in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 5, 2018. Information about the directors and executive officers of EEP, EEQ and SEP is set forth in EEP’s, EEQ’s and SEP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017,


respectively, each of which was filed with the SEC on February 16, 2018. Information about the directors and executive officers of ENF is set forth in ENF’s Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with Canadian securities regulators on February 16, 2018. Each of these documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Other information regarding the participants in any consent or proxy solicitation with respect to the Proposed Transactions and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the relevant materials to be filed by Enbridge and the Sponsored Vehicles with the SEC when they become available.