The Laclede Group Acquires Natural Gas Utility With Customer Choice Program

The Laclede Group, Inc., Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. announced that two newly formed subsidiaries of Laclede have entered into definitive purchase and sale agreements with Southern Union Company, an affiliate of ETE and ETP, pursuant to which Laclede will acquire the assets of Southern Union's Missouri Gas Energy and New England Gas Company divisions.

The value of the transaction is $1.035 billion, subject to customary closing adjustments, comprised of $1.015 billion in cash and nearly $20 million of assumed NEG debt.

New England Gas Company, which serves 50,000 customers in the Fall River area of Massachusetts, operates a natural gas choice program with all customer classes eligible for choice service.

The Laclede Group, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a public utility holding company. Its subsidiary, Laclede Gas Company, serves approximately 630,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in St. Louis City and parts of 10 counties in eastern Missouri.

Laclede's primary non-utility business, Laclede Energy Resources, Inc., included in its Non-Regulated Gas Marketing segment, provides non-regulated natural gas services.