Dive Brief:
- Federal regulators have approved We Energies' bid to acquire Integrys Energy Group for $9.1 billion, after finding there were no market concerns associated with the deal.
- Announced in June last year, the deal would create a company serving more than 4.3 million total gas and electric customers across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
- The deal still needs approval from state regulators in each of those states.
Dive Insight:
Though still requiring regulators in four states to sign off on the deal, We Energies and Integrys moved closer to combining their companies following FERC approval this week. The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports the companies are still hoping to complete the deal in the third quarter of this year.
FERC approved the merger after We Energies agreed to help solve the power crisis on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Wisconsin Energy had been prepared to sell its Presque Isle coal facility, but will now continue to operate the facility as long as its largest customer, Cliffs Natural Resources, continues to purchase power.
The deal would bring together Wisconsin Energy’s We Energies utility and Integrys’ Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Minnesota Energy Resources and Michigan Gas Utilities.
FERC determined the deal "will not result in the cross-subsidization of a non-utility associate company by a utility company, or in a pledge or encumbrance of utility assets for the benefit of an associate company."
One benefit Wisconsin Energy and Integrys have touted was the sheer size of the company. In a statement announcing the deal, the companies pointed to their "complementary geographic footprints" saying the deal created a "larger, more diverse regulated utility company."
The Journal-Sentinel reports that regulators in Michigan and Wisconsin are expected to vote on the merger this month, Minnesota is expected next month, and Illinois likely won't vote on it until July.
