Duke Energy-Piedmont Natural Gas merger seeks N.C. approval

Duke Energy filed Friday for state approval of its $4.9 billion acquisition of merger with Charlotte’s Piedmont Natural Gas.

The deal was announced in October, pairing the nation’s biggest electric holding company with a fast-growing neighbor that will help Duke’s expansion into natural gas.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission’s job is to ensure that customers won’t be hurt by the acquisition, such as by rising rates or diminished service.

Duke filed an analysis Friday that estimates one-time costs of the acquisition at $4.75 million and annual benefits at $9.45 million. A separate analysis predicted no market-power concerns from the deal.

“This transaction will bring an array of benefits to North Carolina’s energy consumers and the state’s economy, and will not adversely impact Duke Energy’s or Piedmont’s customer rates or service,” Duke chairman and CEO Lynn Good said in a statement. “We look forward to the opportunity to present the transaction and its benefits to the North Carolina Utilities Commission at an upcoming hearing.”

Duke hopes to close the deal by the end of this year.

Piedmont already pipes natural gas to six North Carolina power plants owned by Duke, and both companies are invested in the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline from West Virginia into eastern North Carolina. The Piedmont acquisition could serve as a platform for further infrastructure investments by Duke.

The deal needs approval from Tennessee, where Piedmont also operates, and possibly from Kentucky. The Federal Trade Commission granted an early end to its antitrust review in December.

Piedmont shareholders will vote on the transaction on Jan. 22. The deal gives them $60 a share, a 42 percent premium over the stock’s trading price a day before the deal was announced.

Piedmont’s chairman, Tom Skains, will retire when the deal closes and join Duke’s board. Piedmont executive Frank Yoho will lead Duke’s natural gas operations.

Unlike some mergers, the Piedmont acquisition isn’t predicated on cost-cutting. Friday’s filing said Duke doesn’t expect “significant” job cuts.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Duke Energy-Piedmont Natural Gas merger seeks N.C. approval."