N@N

Brower Piven Announces Investigation of Southern Union Company

^{Published on 2011-06-16 16:21:05 - Market Wire}
 

STEVENSON, Md.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The law firm of Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, has commenced an investigation into possible breaches of fiduciary duty to current shareholders of Southern Union Company (aSouthern Uniona) (NYSE: SUG) and other violations of state law by the Board of Directors of Southern Union relating to the proposed acquisition of the company by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (aETEa) (NYSE: ETE). The firma™s investigation seeks to determine whether Southern Uniona™s Board breached their fiduciary duties by, among other things, failing to maximize shareholder value.

On June 16, 2011, Southern Union and ETE jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Southern Union to be acquired by ETE, in a total transaction value of approximately $7.9 billion, including approximately $3.7 billion of existing debt. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Southern Union stockholders will exchange their common shares for newly issued Series B Units of ETE with a value of $33.00 per share, or approximately $4.2 billion. The Series B Units, which will be registered and are expected to be listed for trading on the NYSE, will be entitled to an annualized distribution yield of not less than 8.25%, payable quarterly, based on the implied value of $33.00 per Series B Unit.

At least one analyst has set a high target price of $34.00 per share of Southern Union stock. Indeed, Southern Union has been performing well recently, reporting first quarter net earnings available for common stockholders of $60.7 million ($0.48 per share), compared with $54.3 million ($0.43 per share) in the prior year. Adjusted net earnings for the same period were $64.0 million ($0.51 per share), compared with $55.2 million ($0.44 per share) in the prior year. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

If you own Southern Union common stock and would like to learn more about the investigation being conducted by Brower Piven, you may e-mail or call Brower Piven, who will, without obligation or cost to you, attempt to answer your questions. You may contact Brower Piven by email at [ hoffman@browerpiven.com ], by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and other class action cases of over 60 years.