AltaGas joins Canada buying spree in US with $4.6bn deal

Bloomberg

Add AltaGas Ltd. to the list of Canadian companies that can’t seem to get enough of America’s energy assets. The Calgary power and gas supplier agreed to buy WGL Holdings Inc. — owner of the Washington utility that supplies natural gas to the White House — for $4.6 billion. The takeover will expand its reach in the US, where it already owns power plants and two natural gas distributors. The company also plans to invest $1.8 billion in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of the eastern US.
The takeover is yet another testament to the growing interest in natural gas distributors as demand for the heating fuel rises and Canada’s hunger for US energy assets. Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp. struck multibillion-dollar deals for pipeline owners south of the border, and Fortis Inc. bought American power-line operator ITC Holdings Corp. for almost $7 billion last year. Duke Energy Corp. and Southern Co. are among those that have also bought gas utilities in recent years.
“For Canadian utilities looking for growth, there aren’t that many utilities in Canada to buy,” said Kit Konolige, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. “They’ve been active in acquiring and looking at US gas and electric companies.”
With WGL, AltaGas will have three US gas utilities: It already owns Semco Energy Gas Co. in Michigan and Enstar Natural Gas Co. in Alaska. WGL’s Washington Gas supplies
the fuel to more than one million customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, the
company’s website shows. WGL plans to maintain its headquarters in the District.