Wisconsin Energy Corp. said it would buy Integrys Energy Group Inc. for $5.71 billion to create a larger, more diverse Midwest electric and natural gas delivery company.
The combined company, which will be named WEC Energy Group Inc., will serve more than 4.3 million gas and electricity customers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois, including the customers fo Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas.
Integrys shareholders will receive 1.128 Wisconsin Energy shares and $18.58 in cash per Integrys share, which translates to $71.47 per share.
The offer represents a 17.3 percent premium to Integrys's Friday close on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock was trading at $70.90 in premarket trading on Monday.
Including debt, the deal is valued at $9.1 billion, the companies said. Integrys had total debt of $3.38 billion as of March 31, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Wisconsin Energy Chief Executive Gale Klappa will lead the combined company. Integrys CEO Charlie Schrock will remain in his current role until the deal closes, expected in the summer of 2015, the companies said.
The combined company will operate nearly 71,000 miles of electric distribution lines and more than 44,000 miles of gas transmission and distribution lines.
The transaction is subject to approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and some other state commissions.
Wisconsin Energy's shares were little changed. They closed at $46.89 on Friday.
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