El Paso Corp. has rescheduled a special meeting to vote on its merger with Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) to Friday (March 9) from Tuesday (March 6). The change was made to allow shareholders additional time to consider and and possibly recast their vote following the Delaware Chancery Court opinion rendered in Case No. 6949-CS (see Daily GPI, March 2). Delaware Chancellor Leo Stine said he would not stop El Paso shareholders from voting on the proposed takeover by KMI but he said they likely had cause to file lawsuits because the merger was “tainted by disloyalty” and “disturbing” behavior by El Paso CEO Doug Foshee and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In addition, since El Paso mailed its definitive proxy statement for the special meeting in late January, the company has agreed to sell the exploration and production business, EP Energy Corp., to affiliates that include Apollo Global Management LLC and Riverstone Holdings LLC, a deal that is tied to the KMI merger (see Daily GPI, Feb. 27). According to proxy solicitor MacKenzie Partners Inc., as of March 2 about 70% of El Paso’s outstanding shares had been voted in connection with the KMI transaction, with more than 98.5% voting in favor of the proposal to adopt the merger agreement. The special meeting is to be held at 9 a.m. CT at the Hyatt Regency Houston, 1200 Louisiana St., Houston.

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