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CMS to Buy Duke Energy Units

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<i> From Bloomberg News</i>

CMS Energy Corp. said Monday that it agreed to buy Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. and other assets from Duke Energy Corp. for $1.9 billion in cash, which would more than double CMS’ U.S. natural gas pipeline business.

CMS, the nation’s fourth-largest natural gas and electric utility, also would assume $300 million in debt from Panhandle Eastern, which operates a gas pipeline running from Oklahoma to Michigan. The deal includes Duke’s Trunkline Gas Co., which operates a pipeline from Texas to Michigan.

CMS is buying the Midwest pipeline assets to serve its own gas-fired power plants and gas customers as well as those of other utilities. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke, the largest U.S. utility, plans to focus on its pipeline and power plant projects on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico region.

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The transaction is expected to be completed in January.

Shares of Dearborn, Mich.-based CMS rose $2.13 to close at $46.19, and Duke shares rose 19 cents to close at $64.88, both on the New York Stock Exchange.

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