CMS to Buy Duke Energy Units

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.

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.