Shareholders

Anadarko and Union Pacific Resources (UPR) closed their $5.7billion merger transaction on Friday successfully. Shareholders ofboth companies gave the thumbs-up on the deal on July 13, and bythe end of business on Friday each UPR share received 0.455 sharesof Anadarko common stock.

As Piedmont Natural Gas Co. reported record net income Friday atits annual shareholders meeting in Charlotte, NC, Chairman and CEOJohn H. Maxheim announced his retirement from active operation ofthe company after 22 years. Maxheim said the company’s board hasnamed former Piedmont Natural Gas President and COO Ware F.Schiefer to succeed him as president and CEO.

Shareholders of St. Joseph Light & Power Co. of Missouriapproved a merger with UtiliCorp United Inc. of Kansas City. Of theshares voted, 93.6% were in favor of the merger, while only 2.1%voted against. The approval vote represents 68.5% of all St. Josephshares outstanding. St. Joseph Light & Power share owners willreceive $23 of UtiliCorp common stock for each share of theircommon stock at the deal’s completion. St. Joseph’s stock closed at$20.6875 and UtiliCorp’s stock closed at $24.8125 Tuesday. The$190.6 million deal to create Missouri’s fourth largest gasdistributor and third largest electricity distributor was announcedin early March (See Daily GPI March 8, 1999). The companies nowseek regulatory approval, including the completion of a marketpower study required by both the Missouri Public Service Commissionand FERC, which should be finished in about 60 days. Steinbeckersaid. Light & Power serves 66,000 electric and gas customers inall or part of 10 northwest Missouri counties. UtiliCorp has morethan three million customers in eight states and in Canada,Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

DuPont is planning a stock split-off to establish Conoco as afully independent company. The split off would be achieved throughan exchange offer providing DuPont stockholders the opportunity toexchange, on a tax-free basis, shares of DuPont common stock forshares of Conoco Class B common stock currently held by DuPont. Theexchange offer is subject to approval by the SEC and acceptablemarket conditions. It is expected the exchange offer will becompleted in the third quarter.

BGE shareholders approved the formation of holding companyConstellation Energy Group Inc. Constellation Energy is now set tobe launched May 3, trading under the CEG ticker symbol on the NewYork Stock Exchange. Constellation Energy will be the parentcompany that holds BGE’s common stock and the common stock of allof BGE’s current subsidiaries. BGE will become a sibling to itscurrent subsidiaries and will remain regulated by the MarylandPublic Service Commission.

In an effort to encourage retail stock ownership and improveshare liquidity, the KN Energy board of directors announcedWednesday shareholders of record at the close of business Dec. 15will receive a three-for-two stock split and a 7.1% increase inquarterly dividends. The stock will be distributed and the increasewill be paid concurrently on Dec. 31.

Another class action suit was filed against Triton Energy onbehalf of shareholders alleging the company misrepresented thevalue of its assets and prospects for the company. The most recentsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ofTexas on behalf of those who acquired common stock on or betweenMarch 30 and July 17, says statements by the company and certainexecutives drove its stock price up during the class period.