DALLAS — Atmos Energy Corp. has agreed to pay $1.93 billion in cash for TXU Corp.'s natural gas subsidiary, gaining control of local and long-distance pipelines and 1.4 million customers.
For TXU Corp., the deal announced Thursday represents another step toward reshaping the company into one that focuses on producing and selling electricity.
Atmos executives said acquiring TXU Gas Co. would let them create the country's largest gas-only utility, with 3.1 million customers in 12 states.
Dallas-based Atmos said the TXU purchase would increase earnings by 5 cents to 10 cents per share in the next fiscal year, which starts in October.
Chairman, president and chief executive Robert W. Best said the deal fit Atmos' strategy of growth through acquisitions in the gas business. The company, which started in the Texas Panhandle in 1906, has made nine acquisitions since 1986, buying small gas utilities in Midwestern and Southern states.
Last year, its revenue jumped from $951 million to $2.8 billion.
"It's been a well-managed company that operates under the radar screen of a lot of people," said Harry Quarls, head of the energy practice at consultants Booz Allen Hamilton. "The question is, can they digest an acquisition this big?"