Black Hills has agreed a $1.89billion deal to buy GE-backed SourceGas Holdings.
The pay-out will see South Dakota-based Black Hills assume $720million of debt. The firm said the deal will fuel its expansion into Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Arkansas.
A company spokesman said: “The transaction will add meaningfully to Black Hills’ earnings per share beginning the first calendar year after closing.”
GE’s energy financial-services division and Alinda Capital Partners bought SourceGas in 2007.
The natural gas utility firm has 425,000 customers and a 512-mile (824- kilometer) transmission pipeline in Colorado. The takeover will see Black Hills’ customer base total more than 1.2 million.