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The public utilities commissions of New Hampshire and Maine both approved Unitil Corp.’s proposed acquisition of Northern Utilities Inc. and Unitil’s financing plans for the transaction. Regulatory approval is pending in Massachusetts. In February Unitil agreed to purchase Northern Utilities and Granite State Gas Transmission Inc. from NiSource Inc. for $160 million plus an estimated $25 million for natural gas storage inventory and other working capital items (see NGI, Feb. 25). In August, Unitil filed settlement agreements with the utility regulators in Maine and New Hampshire for the proposed acquisition. Northern Utilities is a natural gas distribution utility serving 52,000 customers in 44 communities in Maine and New Hampshire. Granite’s operations consist of 86 miles of federally regulated gas transmission pipeline, primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. Granite’s principal business is delivering gas transportation services to Northern and providing access to interstate gas pipeline supplies. Upon consummation of the transaction, both Northern and Granite would become wholly owned subsidiaries of Unitil Corp. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of the year.