Hurdle

National Grid plc’s bid to acquire KeySpan Corp. cleared its last regulatory hurdle on Aug. 23, with the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously voting to accept the $11.8 billion, 100% debt-financed merger. The deal, which was completed two days later, makes National Grid the second largest natural gas and electric utility in the United States.

National Grid plc’s bid to acquire KeySpan Corp. cleared its last regulatory hurdle Wednesday, with the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously voting to accept the $11.8 billion, 100% debt-financed merger. The deal puts National Grid into the major league of natural gas and electric companies in the United States.

Removing a major hurdle for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.’s (CME) bid for CBOT Holdings Inc., parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division in closing its investigation Monday found that the deal would likely not reduce competition.

After breaking the April natural gas futures contract below support at $7.100 late last week, the bears cleared another hurdle on Monday in penetrating the $7 level and settling the contract at $6.912, down 17.1 cents on the day. Whether or not it retains a $6 handle depends on what kind of weather rolls in over the next week, which is still open to debate.

Green Bay, WI-based WPS Resources Corp.’s $1.52 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Peoples Energy Corp. cleared its final hurdle last Thursday as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) gave its verbal approval to the proposed merger of the companies, which was first announced on July 10, 2006 (see NGI, July 10, 2006; July 17, 2006). The companies said the transaction will close following the commission’s written order, which is expected to be issued Feb. 16. Upon closing, the new company will be known as Integrys Energy Group Inc., and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TEG. The combined company will have assets of about $10.3 billion and its market capitalization is expected to exceed $4 billion. On the regulated side, the company will have more than 1.6 million natural gas customers and nearly half a million electric customers, with operations in four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

Green Bay, WI-based WPS Resources Corp.’s $1.52 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Peoples Energy Corp. cleared its final hurdle Thursday as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) gave its verbal approval to the proposed merger of the companies, which was first announced on July 10, 2006 (see Daily GPI, July 7, 2006; July 11, 2006). The companies said the transaction will close following the commission’s written order, which is expected to be issued Feb. 16.

Jacob Dweck, a lawyer and principal with the LNG Solutions Group, would rather not describe gas quality/interchangeability issues as a “hurdle” for liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers, utilities and end-users, but rather as an opportunity.

Jacob Dweck, a lawyer and principal with the LNG Solutions Group, would rather not describe gas quality/interchangeability issues as a “hurdle” for liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers, utilities and end-users, but rather as an opportunity.

A bill to open up the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas leasing gained support in the Senate last week, but the next hurdle — to reconcile the chamber’s more narrow offshore measure with the House’s broader offshore bill — is likely to be more difficult to overcome. A cloture vote to cut off debate on the Senate bill has tentatively been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (EST) Monday, and will be followed by a vote on passage of the measure.