Northeast Utilities and Yankee Gas parent Yankee Energy System,Inc. have completed their merger nine months after the deal wasannounced. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which hadordered the break up of the two companies a decade earlier approvedthe recombination Jan. 31 based on a much more lax application ofthe Public Utility Holding Company Act. After approving the deallast fall, YES shareholders decided whether to receive $45/share incash or in NU stock. NU will issue over 11 million shares to YESshareholders. In addition, YES shareholders who receive NU shares,as opposed to cash, will be eligible to receive NU’s dividend of 10cents per share, payable on March 31 to NU shareholders of recordas of March 6. In the transaction, NU will pay $478 million for allof YES common equity and will assume about $200 million in debt.The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control issued itsfinal approval Dec. 29. The companies have identified potentialsavings of at least $10 million over the next five years. NortheastUtilities is New England’s biggest electric utility and Yankee Gasis Connecticut’s biggest gas distribution company.
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Articles from Nine
Columbia Goes from Predator to Prey
Merrillville, IN-based NiSource confirmed yesterday what someobservers have suspected for some time: that Columbia EnergyGroup’s failed bid for Consolidated Natural Gas was partly a veiledattempt to protect itself from being targeted by a buyer. NiSourceannounced that it has had an offer for Columbia on the table sinceApril 1 but has been rebuffed repeatedly and is making its hostilebid public in an effort to pressure Columbia’s board.
Alliance $3 Billion Pipeline in Full Construction Mode
Just in case there were any doubters still out there, AlliancePipeline says it now has nine of 10 mainline construction crews inthe field installing the $3 billion pipeline system. The crewsstarted construction on two spreads in North Dakota, one inMinnesota, two in Iowa, one in Illinois and two in Saskatchewan. AThird crew is starting in Saskatchewan this week.
Alliance: We’re Building It
Just in case there were any doubters still out there, AlliancePipeline says it now has nine of 10 mainline construction crews inthe field installing the $3 billion pipeline system. The crewsstarted construction on two spreads in North Dakota, one inMinnesota, two in Iowa and one in Illinois. Two spreads inSaskatchewan are to start today and one early next week.
Enron Signs CA Colleges to Power Contract
California State University (CSU) and the University ofCalifornia (UC) signed up with Enron Energy Services (EES) forpower to serve all 22 CSI campuses and all nine UC campuses andother facilities. The deal is the largest direct-access electricenergy contract in the country, Enron said. The two institutionsare projected to save more than $15 million over the next fouryears.
