Great Plains Energy, Black Hills Corp. To Acquire Aquila in Linked Deals

Great Plains Energy announced yesterday it will acquire utility Aquila for $1.7 billion. In a separate transaction, Aquila will sell certain of its assets to Black Hills Corp. for $940 million, debt included Great Plains Energy is paying a combined cash and share price of $4.54 per Aquila share; shares closed at $4.34 yesterday. The two transactions are predicated on each other's completion and both are expected to close in about a year.

Sources: Press Release, New York Times, Reuters
Commentary: Great Plains Energy Just Warming Up, Coal Cost Reduction Saves Big for Utilities
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Great Plains Energy (GXP), Aquila (ILA), Black Hills Corp. (BKH). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index (IDU), PowerShares Dynamic Utilities (PUI), Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utlities (RYU), Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU)

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