US natural gas distributor AGL Resources to buy Nicor for $2.4 billion

AGL Resources Inc., a distributor of natural gas in the US, yesterday said that it will buy its peer Nicor Inc, for $2.4 billion in cash and stock to create an $8.6-billion natural gas distribution company with 4.5 million customers.

The transaction, which is the biggest for AGL and the largest in the US gas utilities sector this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, will expand Atlanta-based AGL's footprint to northern Illinois, from its current foothold in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia.

Founded in 1954, Naperville, Illinois-based Nicor is a holding company and is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. It is an energy and shipping company, but its primary business is Nicor Gas, one of the  largest natural gas distribution companies in the US.

Nicor Gas has more than two million customers in most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. It operates a network of more than 34,000 miles of pipelines, connected to the largest underground storage facilities in the country.

Nicor's second largest subsidiary is Port of Palm Beach, Florida-based Tropical Shipping, a containerised shipping business having a fleet of 18 vessels serving ports in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Eastern Caribbean and Guyana.

In addition, the company owns and/or has an equity interest in several energy-related businesses.