Williams Cos. (WMB) expects Southern Union Co. (SUG) to accept its $5.6 billion merger agreement within five days, Williams Chief Executive Alan Armstrong said.

Williams expects the Southern Union board to share its business data with Williams, conduct management meetings and ultimately agree with the all-cash offer by Tuesday, Armstrong told Dow Jones.

"It's fairly simple what we have to offer," Armstrong said. "We don't think the decision process is real complex."

Williams is touting its all-cash offer as being a better deal for Southern Union shareholders than the $5.1 billion cash-and-stock offer being made by rival Energy Transfer Equity Ltd. (ETE).

The Williams merger plan also has none of the special deal-sweeteners included in the finished Energy Transfer bid, which included consulting fees and other perks for Southern Union's chief executive and chief financial officer.

"That would not be part of the merger agreement," Armstrong said.

By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com

Southern Union (NYSE:SUG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Southern Union Charts.
Southern Union (NYSE:SUG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Southern Union Charts.