By Jessica Farrish , The Register Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A Pennsylvania-based company has signed an agreement to purchase the parent company of Mountaineer Gas, the largest local gas distribution company in West Virginia, pending approval by the State Public Service Commission, the regulatory agency that oversees public utilities.
UGI Corporation of Pennsylvania has signed an agreement to buy the Delaware-based Mountaintop Energy Holdings LLC, the owner of Mountaineer Gas, for an enterprise sum of $540 million, which gives UGI claim to all of Mountaineer’s operating assets. The sum includes $140 million in debt, according to a statement from UGI.
Mountaineer employees had learned of the rumored sale prior to Thanksgiving, although West Virginia Public Service Commission members said on Nov. 20 that they had not been notified of the impending acquisition by UGI.
“Depending upon what the transaction looks like, they may have to come to us for approval, but I don’t know that until I see or hear what they’re doing,” said PSC Chair Charlotte Lane on Nov. 20.
Mountaineer Senior Vice President Moses Skaff did not return multiple telephone calls in November to discuss the acquisition…