By George Stahl
Williams Cos. agreed to pay nearly $6 billion in cash to expand
its ownership of Access Midstream Partners, a move aimed at
increasing the energy company's presence in major shale areas.
Under the deal, Williams would acquire the remaining 50% of the
privately held general-partner interests in Access Midstream that
it didn't already own as well as 55.1 million limited-partner
units, giving Williams 50% of the limited-partner interests.
Williams is buying the stakes from Global Infrastructure
Partners II for $5.995 billion. At the close of trading Friday, the
55.1 million limited-partner units had a market value of $3.6
billion.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Following
the close, Williams plans to increase its third-quarter dividend by
32% to 56 cents.
Access Midstream Partners has more than 8.3 million acres in
major shale and unconventional producing areas, including the
Marcellus, Utica, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Barnett, Mid-continent
and Niobrara.
Write to George Stahl at george.stahl@wsj.com
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