“Not with a bang, but a whimper” the $7.5 billion lawsuit filed by TransAmerican Natural Gas against merging giants Coastal Corp. and El Paso Natural Gas, slid to a quiet grave under a sealed settlement agreement last week.
Merging
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TransAmerican Settles with El Paso, Coastal
“Not with a bang, but a whimper”…the $7.5 billion lawsuitfiled by TransAmerican Natural Gas against merging giants CoastalCorp. and El Paso Natural Gas, slid to a quiet grave under a sealedsettlement agreement.
Western States Targets BP Amoco-Arco
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office said it will sueto stop BP Amoco and Arco from merging their companies. The Stateof Oregon also said it will join Washington and the Federal TradeCommission (FTC) in opposing the merger. California also isreviewing its litigation options.
El Paso Dives Back into M&A with Coastal Addition
Fresh off its purchase of Sonat Inc., El Paso Energy Corp.re-entered the consolidation game by merging with Coastal Corp. ina $16 billion deal announced Tuesday. The potential union wouldcreate a pipeline empire capable of serving almost all of the majormarkets in the country. The companies expect the transaction,accounted for as a pooling of interest, to be completed by thefourth quarter of this year.
GRI, IGT Eye Merger as Funding Dries Up
Budget cutbacks and consolidation of the natural gas industryhave prompted the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and the Institute ofGas Technology (IGT) to consider the possibility of merging the twoR&D groups.
Industry Briefs
Consolidated Edison and Orange and Rockland Utilities passed amilestone on their way to merging with approval of the transactionFriday by the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC). Themerger also has been approved by the New Jersey and Pennsylvaniaregulators and FERC. Con Ed plans to acquire all O&R’s commonstock for $58.50 per share, or about $790 million. O&R willbecome a wholly-owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison and willcontinue to operate as a separate company. The utilities areawaiting the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission andcompletion of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act review by the U.S.Department of Justice and expect to close the transaction by nextmonth.
Cameron McKenna Merges With Morley Caskin
The small Washington energy law firm Morley Caskin has joinedthe international ranks, merging with the 700-lawyer British firm,Cameron McKenna. Morley Caskin attorneys Joel Zipp and GeorgeWilliams Jr. are among the six lawyers being added to the largerfirm’s Washington office. The move was official Sept. 1, but willnot be physically accomplished until offices are ready next month.
Syntroleum, SLH Merging for Capital
Syntroleum Corp., the developer and owner of a proprietaryprocess for converting natural gas into synthetic crude oil, andSLH Corp., which owns about 31% of Syntroleum, agreed to merge in astock-for-stock deal, which has been approved by the boards of bothcompanies.