SEC declares Energy Transfer-Williams registration statement "effective"

• Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMB -3.9%) says the SEC has declared effective Energy Transfer Equity's (ETE -9.6%) S-4 registration statement, clearing WMB to mail its final proxy statement and schedule a shareholder vote for June 27 on its $33B merger with ETE.
• ETE says the companies have agreed to a trial to be held June 20 and June 21 to determine whether the deal can close with a tax opinion from Latham & Watkins that the contribution of Williams’ assets to ETE should qualify as a 721 exchange.
• Recent share price action indicates a higher likelihood that WMB will be able to hold ETE to the merger; the gap between WMB's trading price and the value of the cash-and-stock deal has narrowed by more than half over the past week, from nearly $8/share to less than $4/share.
• Now read Yes, Williams Cos. really wants Energy Transfer deal to go through