National Grid, Keyspan Deal Cleared by Fed
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MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — British utility National Grid PLC said yesterday that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted antitrust clearance for its acquisition of New York’s KeySpan Corp., bringing the $7.3 billion deal one step closer to completion.
The energy distribution companies said the acquisition still must gain clearance under foreign investment laws and undergo reviews by American energy and communications commissioners as well as public utilities regulators in New York and New Hampshire.
The deal, announced February 27, would create the third-largest energy delivery utility in the United States. The combined company would serve almost 8 million customers in New York state and New England.
National Grid, which owns and operates Britain’s power grid, distributes electricity and natural gas to nearly 4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid’s American headquarters are in Marlborough.
KeySpan, based in Brooklyn, operates gas utilities in New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire serving 2.6 million customers. It also operates the power transmission system for the Long Island Power Authority, bringing electricity to more than 1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.
The company will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid after the transaction’s projected closing early next year.
