Duke Energy Buys Progress, Creates Largest Utility In The Country (DUK)

Duke Energy Corporation DUK is buying Progress Energy Inc PGN for $13.7 billion in stock, which makes the combined company the country's largest U.S. power company. Duke's offer was a 6.4% premium to the last trading days of Progress. Duke said the deal is accretive to earnings in the first year. The combined companies would have approximately 7.1 million electricity customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Investors are worried a deal may not go through, due to the sheer size of the deal, and the fact that regulators could block or create roadblocks for this deal, as they have in other deals in recent years. As part of the transaction, Duke will assume about $12.2 billion in Progress Energy's debt.