Dominion Energy to buy Scana Corp in $14.6b deal

NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters): Dominion Energy Inc said on Wednesday it will buy troubled utility Scana Corp in an all-stock deal worth about US $14.6 billion, including debt.

Scana shareholders will receive 0.6690 shares of Dominion Energy for each share held, or the equivalent of about $55.35.

The offer represents a premium of 42.4 per cent to Scana's on Tuesday closing price of $38.87. Scana's shares were up 24 per cent in premarket trading.

Virginia-based Dominion said it will pay Scana's South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) subsidiary customers $1.3 billion within 90 days of the deal's closure.

SCE&G, Scana's main subsidiary, had said in November it will cut electricity rates to placate customers who unknowingly bore costs tied to an abandoned nuclear project.

Dominion will also write off more than $1.7 billion of existing capital and regulatory assets related to the abandoned nuclear plants, the company said.

The deal is expected to close this year, the companies said.