WASHINGTON — Dominion Energy, parent company of Dominion Virginia Power, will acquire SCANA Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at $7.9 billion.
Including the assumption of debt, the acquisition is valued at $14.6 billion.
SCANA provides energy in the Carolinas and Georgia.
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a SCANA subsidiary.
The deal represents a 42 percent premium to SCANA’s most recent closing price. Its shares surged as much as 27 percent in pre-market trading.
The acquisition requires regulatory approval and would make Dominion a utility with 6.5 million customers in eight states from Connecticut to California.
The Dominion Energy proposal includes several incentives aimed at winning regulatory approval, including a $1.3 billion cash payment to South Carolina Electric & Gas customers within 90 days after the merger closes, equal to $1,000 for the average residential customer.
It also calls for a 5 percent rate reduction from current levels for a typical SCE&G residential customer.
In addition, Dominion Energy would provide funding for $1 million a year in increased charitable contributions in SCANA’s communities for five years, and SCANA employees would have employment protections until 2020.
SCANA would operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy, and maintain its Cayce, South Carolina headquarters.
SCANA also serves natural gas customers in North Carolina and Georgia.
Dominion Energy is already one of the largest energy utility companies in the U.S., with more than 16,000 employees delivering natural gas and electricity to nearly five million homes and businesses. It also owns one of the nation’s largest natural gas storage systems.
