Iberdrola “remains optimistic” it can save a flagship $8.3bn deal to acquire US utility PNM, with court action underway and a new regulatory commission on the horizon.

The Spanish green power giant and its Avangrid US subsidiary saw the purchase of PNM fall at the final hurdle in December 2021 when commissioners on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) voted 5-0 against approval of the deal.

But Iberdrola is not giving up on the acquisition – which it says will create the third-largest US renewable power operator – and has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of New Mexico.