Update: Southern Union Shareholders Approve Merger With Energy Transfer Equity

Stocks inched up nearly 1% for Southern Union Company (SUG) in afternoon trading Friday after the company said that its shareholders had unanimously approved the proposed merger with Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE).

Originally announced on June 10 the terms of the merger, namely the price, have seen multiple changes before the final terms were brought to Southern Union's shareholders in a special meeting held this morning. In its first offer ETE agreed to acquire SUG for an estimated $7.9 billion. Two weeks later after Southern Union received a higher offer from The Williams Companies, Inc., ETE upped its offer to $8.9 billion. The Williams Companies countered with another offer and then on July 19 the bidding war ceased when Southern Union and ETE entered into "an amended and restated" merger agreement  for ETE to acquire SUG for $9.4 billion.

Though it may seem that ETE paid a high premium for the Houston-based natural gas company a closer look reveals a merger that will create one of the largest natural gas infrastructures in the nation. By acquiring SUG ETE will almost double its natural gas pipeline assets which will now span some 40,000 miles increasing its approximate transportation capacity to 30.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

With the shareholders approval the companies are awaiting regulatory approvals but expect to close the acquisition in the first quarter of 2012.

Image Credit: saturn ♄ via Flickr.