Duke Energy (DUK.N) said on Monday it struck a deal to buy Progress Energy Inc (PGN.N) for $13.7 billion in stock, posing the biggest test yet on whether power regulators will allow utilities to merge and fortify their finances for huge new investments. The deal would create the largest U.S. power company, if it wins approval from regulators, with 7.1 million electricity customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and 57,000 megawatts of generating capacity. Duke Energy Chief Executive and Chairman Jim Rogers said the combined company would be financially stronger and better able to cope with the huge costs facing the industry, from upgrading the power grid and adding new environmental controls to building a new generation of power plants, including new nuclear reactors.
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