WMB Williams Companies Inc

By Ezequiel Minaya 

Williams Cos. on Friday said it remains committed to completing its merger agreement with Energy Transfer Equity LP, amid investors' concerns that the deal would fall apart.

Shares of both companies have declined more than 35% since the beginning of the year.

Williams last year resisted Energy Transfer's initial buyout overture but eventually accepted a lesser price amid slumping energy stocks. Energy companies had a rough ride in 2015, with natural gas and oil prices plummeting.

In June, Williams rejected a $48 billion offer from Energy Transfer. In September, Energy Transfer returned with an offer with a similar exchange ratio but worth about $15 billion less. The $32.6 billion bid was accepted.

Williams had hired advisers to run an auction that drew other bidders, according to people familiar with the matter. But in the end, Dallas-based Energy Transfer prevailed with a bid that values Williams shares at $43.50, a 4.6% premium to their closing price on Sept. 25.

Energy Transfer hired no fewer than 10 banks to advise it on its pursuit of Williams--with the aim of preventing rival parties from hiring the banks, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firms will have a combined network of more than 100,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing the continent. Williams offers Energy Transfer more access to the northeastern U.S., where connections are needed to bring surging output from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to New York and New England.

Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams's 10,000-mile Transco natural-gas network is regarded as the company's crown jewel and is a critical fuel link between Texas and the Northeast.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 15, 2016 19:04 ET (00:04 GMT)

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