National Fuel to buy CenterPoint's Ohio gas utility business for $2.62 billion
National Fuel Gas agreed on October 20, 2025 to acquire CenterPoint Energy Resources' Ohio natural gas distribution business, Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, for $2.62 billion, subject to adjustments, paid partly in cash and partly with a $1.2 billion promissory note. The company says the deal roughly doubles its gas utility rate base to about $3.2 billion, but closing is not expected until the fourth quarter of calendar 2026 and the acquisition is expected to be neutral to consolidated adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2028.
Key points
- Purchase price of $2.62 billion, subject to customary adjustments, paid in cash and a $1.2 billion seller note at 6.5% interest maturing 364 days after closing
- Bridge facility commitments of $1.42 billion (acquisition tranche) and $1.2 billion (seller note tranche) from TD Bank and Wells Fargo
- Permanent financing expected to include $300 million to $400 million of common equity, plus long-term debt and free cash flow
- Expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar 2026, subject to HSR review and a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio notice filing; consolidated adjusted EPS expected neutral in fiscal 2028 and accretive thereafter
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 12:57 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on October 21, 2025.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.