US FERC approves merger of NiSource and Columbia Energy

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the $ 6 bn merger of NiSource and Columbia Energy. Under the deal announced on Feb. 28, 2000, NiSource will pay $ 70 per share in cash and $ 2.60 per share in convertible securities for each share of Columbia. NiSource will also assume about $ 2.5 bn in Columbia debt.
The merger has received approvals from the states of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Maryland, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire. Earlier in July, the transaction also cleared the waiting period under Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act at the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Shareholders of both companies approved the merger in June.
Under the deal announced on Feb. 28, 2000, NiSource will pay $ 70 per share in cash and $ 2.60 per share in convertible securities for each share of Columbia. NiSource will also assume about $ 2.5 bn in Columbia debt.

Based in Merrillville, Indiana, NiSource's primary business is the distribution of electricity, natural gas and water in the Midwest and North-eastern US.

Columbia Energy, based in Herndon, Virginia, is an energy services company. Its operating companies engage in multiple phases of the natural gas business, including exploration and production, transmission, storage and distribution, as well as propane and petroleum product sales and electric power generation.