Williams Cos. Inc. (WMB)

[eastunder]

Looks like we will have a brand new company as well, right?

The shares we will get will be of ETC, not ETE.

We have put in place a mechanism for the stock that we are issuing, which will be a newly created vehicle, ETC, to trade at parity with ETE.

ETE will form a new Partnership entity that will in fact be a Corporation for tax purposes, ETC — or Energy Transfer Corp., LP, as its full and legal correct name. It will be merged with Williams and it will be the survivor of that actual merger

[eastunder]

Per.

It's a ratio

[eastunder]

Transcript of investors call

http://archive.fast-edgar.com//20150929/AS2LW62FZW2R3ZZ2222E2ZXM9GIPZZ22D272/

[Fireman451]

1.5 common units per share of williams or just 1.5 common unit?

[eastunder]

"It’s clearly a disappointing deal” for investors

I agree with him.

Turning down a $64.00 offer and then ending up taking a $43.50 offer from the same company? I didn't see that one coming!

I do see some benefits in the LT but I really was after something a little different. I rather of had the trade. Now I am a LT thinker, darnit!

I see we have the first of the ambulance chasers showing up this morning, not that they matter but it's always fun to see how many we attract.

Ryan & Maniskas, LLP Announces Investigation of Williams Companies, Inc

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ryan-maniskas-llp-announces-investigation-143200356.html

[eastunder]

The options a shareholder can choose from:

Note: The receipt of the merger consideration is expected to be tax-free to the Williams stockholders, except with respect to any cash received.

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/150929/wmb8-k.html

At the effective time of the Merger, each issued and outstanding share of common stock of Williams (the "Williams Common Stock") (other than Williams shares held by Williams, subsidiaries of Williams, ETC and its affiliates and shares for which the holder thereof has perfected appraisal rights under Delaware law) will be cancelled and automatically converted into the right to receive, at the election of each holder and subject to proration as set forth in the Merger Agreement:

* $8.00 in cash and 1.5274 common units representing limited partnership interests in ETC ("ETC common shares") (the "Mixed Consideration"); or

* 1.8716 ETC common shares (the "Stock Consideration"); or

* $43.50 in cash (the "Cash Consideration").

Williams stockholders that elect to receive the Stock Consideration or the Cash Consideration will be subject to proration to ensure that the aggregate number of ETC common shares and the aggregate amount of cash paid in the Merger will be the same as if all electing shares received the Mixed Consideration. In addition, Williams is entitled to declare a special one-time dividend of $0.10 per share of Williams Common Stock, to be paid immediately prior to the closing of the Merger and contingent upon consummation of the Merger (the "Pre-Merger Special Dividend").

[Timothy Smith]

"We now believe the financial operating structure of the MLP may not survive in its current form, even as we say that most businesses using the MLP model are good ones,” writes Brian Nelson, president of Valuentum Securities; he thinks the stock market eventually will demand that MLPs pay their distributions and dividends out of earnings and traditional free cash flow, causing the declines in their unit prices to continue.

[Timothy Smith]

One reason for the extreme nature of today's selloff could be that there is little liquidity and few buyers in the energy market right now, and particularly the midstream energy market where ETE and WMB operate, says Tudor Pickering's Brandon Blossman.

ETE shareholders also may be concerned the company is converting to a corporate structure as part of the deal, which plays into growing talk that the MLP business model may not survive the current difficulties.

[Timothy Smith]

"It’s clearly a disappointing deal” for investors, says Jay Hatfield, portfolio manager of the InfraCap MLP exchange-traded fund, of Energy Transfer Equity's (ETE, ETP) takeover of Williams Cos. (WMB, WPZ), but bad timing and evidence of panic selling among MLPs exacerbated today's selloff.

But Hatfield is not against the deal or the MLP space, seeing eventual upside for ETE but perhaps not be until 2016, when deal closes and energy prices have stabilized; "It is a great idea for 2016, but there may be better opportunities before then," Hatfield says.

[eastunder]

Merger News Sends Energy Transfer Equity LP Down 11%

Energy Transfer Equity LP agrees to buy rival Williams Companies in a $37.7 billion deal.


What: Shares of Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE) fell more than 11% in early morning trading on Monday. Driving the downdraft was the announcement that the company had finally secured a deal to buy rival Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB). The deal was secured after months of negotiation, resulting in the creation of the third-largest energy franchise in North America.

So what: Negotiations between Energy Transfer Equity and Williams Companies were first made public in late July when after Williams rejected a previous merger offer. That offer was an all-equity deal valuing Williams at $64 per share or $53.1 billion, which included the assumption of debt. Furthermore, that deal called for Williams to terminate its merger agreement to buy the outstanding units of its MLP Williams Partners that it didn't already own. Williams thought the offer price undervalued its franchise and it initiated a strategic review to see if it could find a better offer. Such an offer never materialized, as the energy sector took a turn for the worse when oil prices rolled over, sending the equity prices of all three companies much lower.



That brought the pair back to the negotiating table. They were able to hammer out a new agreement, which values Williams at just $43.50 per share or $37.7 billion. This agreement, however, is an equity-and-cash deal, as Williams' shareholders will receive 1.5274 shares of a new publicly traded C-Corp, Energy Transfer Corporation, and $8 per share in cash as well as a special dividend of $0.10 per share. Furthermore, the deal also results in the termination of Williams Company's merger agreement with Williams Partners, which will remain a separate publicly traded entity.

Now what: This is an interesting turn of events, as Williams had seemed to be dead set against combining with Energy Transfer, preferring to go it alone. However, giving the renewed worries in the energy sector and the strategic rationale for the combination, it finally agreed to terms. In doing so, Energy Transfer will become one of the largest energy franchises in the world, with an enormous growth runway due to the number of projects both companies have in their backlog. Furthermore, Energy Transfer estimates it will be able to capture upwards of $2.4 billion in commercial and cost-saving synergies over the next few years. That suggests that the sell-off today might be an overreaction, as the long-term strategic rationale of the deal appears to be quite compelling.

[eastunder]

Energy Transfer Equity to Combine with Williams


Anticipated Commercial Synergies Exceed $2 Billion of Incremental EBITDA by 2020

Up to $400 Million of Additional Cost Savings Expected from the Implementation of ETE’s Shared Service Model

Williams’ Stockholders Can Elect to Receive Shares Issued by New ETE C-corp and/or Cash, Subject to Proration If Either is Oversubscribed

Transaction is Immediately Accretive to Cash Flow and Distributions for Both ETE and WMB

Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ) to Retain Its Name and Remain Headquartered in Tulsa


Business Wire



Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE) (“ETE”) and The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) (“Williams” or “WMB”) today announced a business combination transaction valued at approximately $37.7 billion, including the assumption of debt and other liabilities. This announcement follows the termination of the previously agreed merger agreement between WMB and Williams Partners L.P. (“WPZ”). The business combination between ETE and WMB was approved by the Boards of Directors of both entities. The combination will create the third largest energy franchise in North America and one of the five largest global energy companies. The combination will also benefit customers by enabling further investments in capital projects and efficiencies that would not be achievable absent the transaction.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150928005640/en/

Under the terms of the transaction, Energy Transfer Corp LP (“ETC”), an affiliate of ETE, will acquire Williams at an implied current price of $43.50 per Williams share. Williams’ stockholders will have the right to elect to receive as merger consideration either ETC common shares, which would be publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol “ETC”, and / or cash. Elections to receive ETC common shares and cash will be subject to proration. Cash elections will be prorated to the extent they exceed $6.05 billion in the aggregate and stock elections will be prorated to the extent the full $6.05 billion cash pool is not utilized. Williams stockholders electing to receive stock consideration will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.8716 ETC common shares for each share of WMB common stock, before giving effect to proration. If all Williams’ stockholders elect to receive all cash or all stock, then each share of Williams common stock would receive $8.00 in cash and 1.5274 ETC common shares. In addition, WMB stockholders will be entitled to a special one-time dividend of $0.10 per WMB share to be paid immediately prior to the closing of the transaction. The special one-time dividend is in addition to the regularly scheduled WMB dividends to be paid before closing.

ETC will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and holders of ETC common shares will therefore receive an IRS Form 1099, rather than a Schedule K-1, for federal income tax reporting. As part of this transaction, in exchange for the contribution by ETC to ETE of all of the assets and liabilities of WMB, ETE will issue to ETC a number of ETE Class E common units equal to the number of ETC common shares to be issued in the transaction. The Class E common units will be entitled to receive the same quarterly cash distribution per unit as the quarterly cash distribution per ETE common unit. As ETE has agreed to provide all administrative services to ETC and to indemnify ETC for all liabilities incurred by ETC, ETC is expected to distribute 100% of the after-tax cash distributions it receives from ETE to holders of ETC common shares on a quarterly basis as a cash dividend. ETC will benefit from a dividend equalization agreement through calendar 2018 with ETE that ensures that ETC shareholders will receive the identical cash dividend as an ETE unit holder.

To address any uncertainty as to how the newly listed ETC common shares, as a new security, will trade relative to ETE common units, ETE has agreed that, as part of the merger consideration, each ETC share will have attached to it one contingent consideration right (“CCR”). In the event the ETC common shares trade at a discount to the ETE common units on a daily volume-weighted average basis over the 23-month period following the 20th trading day after the closing of the transaction, ETC will make a one-time payment in an amount equal to such volume-weighted price differential (the “Shortfall Amount”). Any Shortfall Amount will be settled in ETC common shares (at the then current value) or cash at ETE’s election, and ETE will issue a proportionate amount of Class E common units to ETC. If ETC common shares trade at a premium to ETE common units over the same 23-month period, the CCR will expire with no value and a portion of the ETE Class E common units held by ETC will be cancelled based on the volume weighted average price differential, thereby reducing ETC’s ownership interest in ETE. There is also an automatic termination provision of the CCR if ETC trades above ETE on a daily VWAP basis for 20 consecutive trading days and there is no Shortfall Amount outstanding at the end of that 20 trading day period.

The transaction is expected to be tax-free to Williams’ stockholders, except with respect to any cash received. The parties believe that all stakeholders will benefit from the cash flow diversification associated with ownership in three large investment grade MLPs (Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (“ETP”), Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (“SXL”) and WPZ). As a result, the combination creates a truly unique and diversified collection of compatible businesses that will drive greater near- and long-term value.

Kelcy Warren, ETE’s Chairman, said, “I am excited that we have now agreed to the terms of this merger with Williams. I believe that the combination of Williams and ETE will create substantial value for both companies’ stakeholders that would not be realized otherwise.”

Frank T. MacInnis, Chairman of the Williams Board of Directors, said, “After a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives, including extensive discussions with numerous parties, the Williams Board of Directors concluded that a merger with Energy Transfer Equity is in the best interests of Williams’ stockholders and all of our other stakeholders. The merger provides Williams stockholders with compelling value today as well as the opportunity to benefit from enhanced growth projects.”

Alan Armstrong, President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams, said, “Williams’ intense focus on connecting the best natural gas supplies to the best natural gas markets will be a significant complement to the ETE family of diverse energy infrastructure. As a combined company, we will have enhanced prospects for growth, be better able to connect our customers to more diverse markets, and have more stability in an environment of low commodity prices. Importantly, Williams Partners will retain its current name and remain a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.”

During the course of its diligence process over the last ten weeks, the Energy Transfer family has identified significant commercial synergies. These synergies run across a broad spectrum, ranging from new revenue opportunities, improved operational efficiencies and performance, new capital opportunities and prioritization of existing capital projects. ETE expects that the anticipated EBITDA from these commercial synergies will exceed $2 billion per year by 2020 (or more than 20% of the estimated current pro forma EBITDA for the combined company) and will require overall incremental capital investment of more than $5 billion to achieve.

As part of the merger, WPZ will retain its current name and remain a publicly traded partnership headquartered with a meaningful ongoing presence in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Also as a result of this announcement, WMB and WPZ are withdrawing their financial guidance. ETE expects no impact from this transaction on the credit ratings of ETP, SXL, Sunoco L.P. (“SUN”) or WPZ.

ETE and Williams believe there are numerous meaningful benefits from a proposed combination:

ETE Stakeholders
• At closing, the transaction will be immediately accretive to distributable cash flow and distributions per unit for ETE and is expected to be credit positive to ETE’s credit ratings;
• ETE’s distribution growth rate is expected to remain at its current level;
• as a result of diligence, the size of both the expected cost savings and the anticipated commercial synergies exceeds ETE’s previous expectations and will help ensure that the duration of ETE’s distribution growth rate will be longer as a result of the transaction;
• the introduction of cash into the transaction consideration has reduced the ETC share issuance by over 260 million shares (or approximately 18.5% of the overall ETC share issuance);
• the number of possible opportunities to migrate assets within the Energy Transfer family and find additional commercial opportunities, not currently quantified, within the expanded asset base will increase significantly, thereby creating more value for ETP, SXL, WPZ and SUN, which in turn will result in increased cash flow growth for ETE;
• the ability of ETE to broaden its overall shareholder base through the ETC structure; and
• the creation of ETC will result in increased liquidity for ETE unitholders because of the option for ETE unitholders to exchange ETE common units for ETC common shares.

WMB Stakeholders
• A compelling transaction that provides Williams’ stockholders with: • an attractive premium to the implied trading price of WMB assuming WMB traded in line with either the Alerian index or its midstream peers since the date of ETE’s initial offer;
• a pro forma level of dividend per ETC common shares received that will exceed the 2016 dividend per WMB share that Williams had forecast on a pro forma basis for the Williams/WPZ merger;
• ETC dividend growth superior to that of Williams on a pro forma basis for the proposed Williams/WPZ merger;

• the option to elect cash in the transaction will allow Williams’ stockholders to monetize, on a taxable basis, all or some of their investment in WMB, subject only to the aggregate $6.05 billion pool of cash consideration being fully utilized;
• the exchange of WMB shares for ETC common shares is expected to be tax free to WMB stockholders, except with respect to cash received;
• for each outstanding ETC common share, ETC will receive from ETE the same cash distribution per quarter as ETE distributes with respect to each ETE common unit;
• ETC will benefit from a dividend equalization agreement through calendar 2018 that ensures that ETC shareholders will receive the identical cash dividend as an ETE unitholder;
• the CCR is intended to address any trading price differences between ETC and ETE during the two-year period following closing;
• ETE will become co-obligor of Williams’ existing debt and Williams’ credit facility will be terminated at closing; and
• ETC common shares are expected to have tremendous liquidity, a strong growth profile and the potential for inclusion in the S&P 500 index (similar to WMB’s current inclusion in that index).

WPZ Stakeholders
• There is no expected impact to WPZ’s credit ratings as a result of the ETE/Williams combination;
• WPZ unitholders will have greater distributable cash flow from material cost savings and synergies of up to $400 million per annum with WPZ joining the Energy Transfer shared service model;
• the combination will create new commercial opportunities for WPZ, including the potential to acquire assets from the overall Energy Transfer group, that will improve WPZ’s business outlook, cash flow growth and overall financial profile;
• WPZ unitholders will benefit from having a general partner, ETE, that, based on the unique intrinsic financial and strategic optionality in the Energy Transfer family, will be in a position to help WPZ fully realize its long-term growth potential; and
• WPZ will receive a $428 million break-up fee for the termination of its merger agreement with WMB payable to all outstanding limited partnership units of WPZ including WMB’s approximate 60 percent ownership.

Regulatory Process and Transaction Timing

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the receipt of approval of the merger from Williams’ stockholders and all required regulatory approvals, including approval pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR”). ETE and Williams anticipate that the transaction will be completed in the first half of 2016. There is no requirement for an ETE unitholder vote, providing additional deal certainty to Williams’ stockholders. The parties intend to commence the integration planning process immediately following receipt of HSR clearance to ensure that the implementation of the shared service model between Energy Transfer and WMB/WPZ is fully effective and functioning at completion of the merger.

Investor Conference Call

Energy Transfer will hold a conference call to discuss the transaction today at 8 a.m. Central Time (9 a.m. Eastern Time).

The dial-in number for the call is 1-866-700-5192 in the United States, or [phone] outside the United States, passcode 64571414. A live webcast of the call may be accessed on the Investor Relations page of Energy Transfer's website at www.energytransfer.com. The call will be available for replay for seven days by dialing 1-888-286-8010 (from outside the U.S., [phone]) passcode 55056274. A replay of the broadcast will also be available on Energy Transfer’s website for 30 days.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE) is a master limited partnership which owns the general partner and 100% of the incentive distribution rights (IDRs) of Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) and Sunoco, LP (SUN), approximately 2.6 million ETP common units, approximately 81.0 million ETP Class H Units, which track 90% of the underlying economics of the general partner interest and IDRs of Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (SXL), and 100 ETP Class I Units. On a consolidated basis, ETE’s family of companies owns and operates approximately 71,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids, refined products, and crude oil pipelines.

Williams (WMB) is a premier provider of large-scale infrastructure connecting North American natural gas and natural gas products to growing demand for cleaner fuel and feedstocks. Headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., Williams owns approximately 60 percent of Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ), including all of the 2 percent general-partner interest. Williams Partners is an industry-leading, large-cap master limited partnership with operations across the natural gas value chain from gathering, processing and interstate transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids to petchem production of ethylene, propylene and other olefins. With major positions in top U.S. supply basins and also in Canada, Williams Partners owns and operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines system wide – including the nation’s largest volume and fastest growing pipeline – providing natural gas for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use. Williams Partners’ operations touch approximately 30 percent of U.S. natural gas.

[eastunder]

Williams, Energy Transfer Merger Leaves Shareholders Unimpressed

By Paul Ausick September 28, 2015 10:20 am EDT




Back in June, the Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) turned down a merger offer from Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE: ETE) worth a total of about $53 billion, including Williams debt. On Monday morning, the companies announced a business combination in a transaction valued at about $37.7 billion in cash and stock, including debt.


Since a two-for-one unit split in late July, Energy Transfer Equity shares have posted a drop of around 19%, while Williams shares are down about 7.5%. The deal announced Monday is based on an implied current price for Williams of $43.50 per share, compared with an implied price per share of $64 back in June. The June offer was an all-stock transaction.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Williams shareholders can elect to receive common shares in Energy Transfer Corp. L.P., an affiliate of Energy Transfer Equity, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ETC, or cash or a combination of stock and cash:


Cash elections will be prorated to the extent they exceed $6.05 billion in the aggregate and stock elections will be prorated to the extent the full $6.05 billion cash pool is not utilized. Williams stockholders electing to receive stock consideration will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.8716 ETC common shares for each share of WMB common stock, before giving effect to proration. If all Williams’ stockholders elect to receive all cash or all stock, then each share of Williams common stock would receive $8.00 in cash and 1.5274 ETC common shares.

Williams shareholders also will receive a one-time special dividend of $0.10 per share to be paid immediately before the transaction closes. For tax purposes Energy Transfer Corp. will be treated as a corporation, not a master limited partnership.

The proposed acquisition of Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) by Williams Companies is cancelled, and stakeholders in Energy Transfer Equity will own a stake in “three large investment grade MLPs”: Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP), Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXL) and Williams Partners. The transaction is expected to be tax-free to existing Williams shareholders, and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016.

Energy Transfer Equity expects that the anticipated EBITDA from commercial synergies associated with the merger will exceed $2 billion per year by 2020 (or more than 20% of the estimated current pro forma EBITDA for the combined company) and will require overall incremental capital investment of more than $5 billion to achieve.

Williams shareholders are not so sanguine. Shares traded down as much as 5.5% in the premarket session and fell more than 9% to a new 52-week low of $37.40 in early trading. The 52-week high is $61.38.

Energy Transfer Equity common units fell more than 10% to a new 52-week low of $20.86 in early trading. The 52-week high is $35.44.


Read more: Williams, Energy Transfer Merger Leaves Shareholders Unimpressed (NYSE: ETE) (NYSE: WMB) - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/energy-business/2015/09/28/williams-energy-transfer-merger-leaves-shareholders-unimpressed/#ixzz3n3Ex5VVc

[Mma20]

It has to be in high 50s .. No way they would go from 64 to low 40s

[eastunder]

That's the unknown right now. Wish I knew the answer!

[Mma20]

What would share price be now if bought

[eastunder]

Will Williams Companies Accept ETE's Revised Buyout Offer?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/williams-companies-accept-etes-revised-193007428.html

The board of directors of Williams Companies Inc. WMB will likely meet this week to discuss its sale to its rival and natural gas pipeline operator Energy Transfer Equity ETE, going by Reuters. Williams’ decision came after Energy Transfer Equity revised its buyout offer.

Last June, Williams Companies had declined an unsolicited buyout offer, worth $48 billion, made by Energy Transfer Equity. The proposal involved an all-equity deal of $64 per Williams Companies’ share, a 32% premium to the closing price of $48.34 on Friday, Jun 19. But now, as per the report, Energy Transfer Equity has revised the previous buyout proposal and agreed to pay roughly 15% of the transaction in cash. It is to be noted that although a rough figure of the cash amount is given, the accurate amount is on the anvil.

Reuters added that initially the boards of Williams Companies will meet to decide whether they will at all join Energy Transfer Equity at the final negotiation table. If that is decided, the board will meet again for the deal approval.

Tulsa, OK-based Williams Companies is a premier energy infrastructure provider in North America. The company’s core operations include finding, producing, gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas. Boasting a widespread pipeline system, Williams is one of the largest domestic transporters of natural gas by volume.

Williams Companies’ midstream assets, which are less sensitive to commodity prices, help it to maintain a steady stream of revenues and cash flow even if natural gas prices stay low. We appreciate the company’s recently enhanced natural gas delivery capacity to Brooklyn and Queens by bringing its Rockaway Delivery Lateral and Northeast Connector projects online. This reflects Williams Companies’ objective to meet the long-term clean energy needs of New York City.

However, the ongoing weakness in commodity prices has taken its toll on the volumes and distribution growth potential of Williams Partners WPZ, the company's largest income generating business segment.

[eastunder]

Perfect! :)

[stocky101]

I was in since the 15th

[eastunder]

Stocky -

Re: "you got to be a shareholder as of EOD on 9/24"

You have to be on record by 9/24, which means you had to have been a shareholder by Sept 21st.

WMB went X dividend on Sep 22, 2015

http://www.dividendinvestor.com/historical.php?no=37950

[Timothy Smith]

Still a lot of uncertainty over deal. Marke are to predict until there is clarification.

[stocky101]

I thought we would be up today with the dividend payout, you got to be a shareholder as of EOD on 9/24

[Timothy Smith]

Chances are there is uncertainty in the market and a completed deal will significantly boost this.

[dockzef]

Guessing this is going to run before the sale imo!

[stocky101]

Getting closer to $68

[Timothy Smith]

Williams Cos. (WMB -3.8%) board is preparing to meet as soon as this week to consider a sale to Energy Transfer Equity (ETE -3.7%) in response to a revised offer, Reuters reports.

ETE has offered to tweak its all-stock offer for WMB, which is currently worth ~$34B, and pay for ~15% of the deal with cash, according to the report.

The bid was worth ~$48B in June when WMB rejected an acquisition proposal from ETE, and share prices have since dropped along with oil prices.

[dockzef]

Finally, in a bit of natural gas news, this fall could see an uptick in natural gas consumption as several nuclear power plants go offline for refueling. The EIA projects that 9 percent of the U.S.’ nuclear power capacity is currently offline, a number that could grow this fall. Between September and December, around 30 reactors could undergo refueling maintenance, which could lead to more natural gas consumption as natural gas-fired power plants pick up the slack. U.S. natural gas consumption could grow by 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in the third and fourth quarters (natural gas consumption averaged 28 bcf/d in early September, before the nuclear refueling began in earnest).

[eastunder]

I think they should wait a few days and let the Div go X


X is on Tues Sep 22, 2015

and pays 0.64

Then they can announce the deal on that same Tuesday...or even Monday after the bell. That works just as well. ;)

Selfish reasons of course.

I have full intention of selling on a pop, if there is one.

I would hate to miss the Div when it's this close to X

[eastunder]

What Smart Money Sentiment Says Regarding Williams Companies Inc (WMB)’s Takeover?


By Prakash Pandey in Commodities,Market Movers,News

Published: September 17, 2015 at 9:32 am

http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/what-smart-money-sentiment-says-regarding-williams-companies-inc-wmbs-takeover-371256/



The shares of Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) surged by over 3% in the extended trading session on the back of news regarding a potential takeover by Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ETE), as reported by Bloomberg. Energy Transfer Equity has been struggling for months to acquire its Oklahoma-based rival pipeline operator and the deal is almost closed, according to the source citing people familiar with the matter.


The Dallas, Texas based Energy Transfer Equity announced in June that it had made an unsolicited proposal for the acquisition of Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) for $64 per share, pricing the company at $48 billion, or $53 billion including debt. However, the board of directors of Williams rejected the proposal, saying that the offer “significantly undervalues Williams” and that the company had better chances of value creation on a standalone basis. The Williams Companies’ stock has lost around 5% since the end June. The company owns 33,000 miles of pipelines in the United States and Canada, touching nearly 30% of the U.S. natural gas through its operations every year. A potential deal could create the largest operator of infrastructure related to the Oil & Gas segment in the world.

The news has definitely pleased smart money investors, as Williams Companies witnessed an increase in popularity among the hedge funds from our database on the back of the announcement of the talks between the two companies made this summer.



Why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment? Most investors ignore hedge funds’ moves because as a group their average net returns trailed the market since 2008 by a large margin, although the weak performance is due to their short positions, which tend to lose money in a bullish market. However, by imitating hedge funds’ long picks independently, our research has shown that these holdings can generate strong risk adjusted returns. For instance, 15 most popular small-cap stocks among the funds from our database, outperformed the S&P 500 Total Return Index by an average of 95 basis points per month in our backtests that covered the period between 1999 and 2012. We have been tracking the performance of these stocks in real-time since the end of August 2012 and our strategy managed to return 118% over the last 36 months and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by over 60 percentage points (see more details here).

According to our data, the number of hedge funds holding equity positions in Williams rose to 86 from 60 during the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings surged by almost 61% to $10.64 billion and amassed almost 25% of the company’s outstanding stock. Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) was also the most popular large-cap public utility stock among the funds we track. The company has attracted the attention of some activist investors like Dan Loeb of Third Point and Keith Meister of Corvex Capital, whose funds held 1.50 million shares and 41.68 million shares at the end of June respectively. Soroban Capital Partners and Lone Pine Capital were among other shareholders of the company, with stakes of 21.00 million shares and 13.94 million shares respectively.

On the other hand, the insiders of Williams Companies disclosed no less than 18 transactions that involved sales of shares in 2015, with Senior Vice President Francis Billings leading the trend, as he unloaded 66,694 shares on May 14 at a $52.73 per unit.

[stocky101]

Just announce the deal already!!!!!!! Lol

[stocky101]

Going to see a huge pop soon!!!!!! Chart is primed for gains

[stocky101]

Going to see a lot of short covering today

[stocky101]

Could see another 20% today

[stocky101]

I'm hearing some chatter of over $70 a share

[eastunder]

Energy Transfer Said Close to Winning Deal for Williams
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-16/energy-transfer-said-to-be-close-to-winning-deal-for-williams?cmpid=yhoo

by Jim Polson and Matthew Monks


September 16, 2015 — 1:14 PM MDT

Updated on September 16, 2015 — 2:29 PM MDT


Blue Arrow
Williams spurned Energy Transfer's $48 billion offer in June

Blue Arrow
Talks are advanced, deal could be announced in 7 to 10 days



After a nine-month battle that became public this summer, Energy Transfer Equity LP is close to winning its takeover fight for rival pipeline operator Williams Cos., people with knowledge of the matter said.

The companies are in advanced talks about a deal that could be announced in the next week and a half, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The transaction hasn’t been finalized and talks could still fall through, the people said.

A deal between Energy Transfer and Williams would create the world’s largest operator of infrastructure for moving and processing oil and gas. It would also end a battle that intensified in June when Williams rejected Energy Transfer’s unsolicited bid and hired banks to explore a sale.

Williams rose 5.3 percent to close at $45.86 in New York, after touching $46.44, the biggest jump since the offer was disclosed. Energy Transfer climbed 1.7 percent to $25.74.

Energy Transfer offered to buy Williams for $64 a share in stock, or about $48 billion. Including debt, the deal would have been valued at about $53 billion, according to an announcement at the time. It’s not clear if Energy Transfer has changed the terms of its initial proposal.

Representatives for Williams and Energy Transfer declined to comment.

[eastunder]

Also WPZ not so happy today which we can almost assume that ETE got their way and eliminated WPZ out of the deal? If there was even a slight hint of the opposite I think WPZ would be moving up as well as WMB

[eastunder]

I know. That's what gets me. We were around 48 a share when we had the original offer.

Now we hit a low of 41.61, sat yesterday at 43.57 and expect them to pay an even larger premium?

Will they? Do the want WMB that bad?

Or is Williams just going to cave in for a lower price?

[stocky101]

Sounds like it could be a big deal, especially after they rejected an offer for $64 a share

[eastunder]

UPDATE: Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) Close to Winning Deal for Williams Cos. (WMB) - Bloomberg
3:15 PM ET, 09/16/2015 - StreetInsider

(Updated - September 16, 20153:18 PM EDT)

Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE) is said to be close to winning a takeover fight to acquire Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB), according to Bloomberg sources. A deal could be announced in the next week and a half, the report said.

[eastunder]

That's been the talk - Has a decision been made? She's getting some volume right now.

[stocky101]

Bloomberg reporting Energy Transfer Partners to potentially take over Williams

[stocky101]

Just heard a possible buyout in the works, could be the reason for the dpike

[Timothy Smith]

Uncertainty never makes for strong markets.

[eastunder]

Doesn't appear like the market has much faith in that going forward.

Quite the drop in the PPS, eh?

[Elmer Phud]

eatsunder

Mystery solved

Partly.

Sure, I'm glad to finally see the dividend declared but why were they a month late in declaring it? They normally declare it a month before the ex-div date. I'm sure it will all be clear in the fullness of time...

[Timothy Smith]

Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) has exited the auction process for Williams Cos. (WMB, WPZ), increasing the possibility that Energy Transfer Equity (ETE, ETP) could succeed in buying the company, Reuters reports.

ETE and WMB are said to be negotiating and trying to agree over the share portion of the offer, with ETE offering new shares that have never traded in the public market and WMB viewing the valuation for those shares as untested.

ETE has hinted that it could launch a hostile takeover if discussions fall through.

[eastunder]

Williams Increases Quarterly Dividend to $0.64 per Share or $2.56 Annualized

Today : Saturday 12 September 2015

Williams' (NYSE: WMB) board of directors has approved a regular dividend of $0.64 on the company’s common stock, payable September 30, 2015, to holders of record at the close of business September 24, 2015.

The new amount is an increase of $0.08, or 14 percent, from the third-quarter 2014 dividend and an increase of $0.05, or 8.5 percent, from the previous quarter. The increase is consistent with dividend guidance Williams issued July 29, 2015 as part of its second-quarter earnings announcement.

The process to explore a range of strategic alternatives announced by Williams on June 21, 2015, following receipt of an unsolicited proposal to acquire Williams, is ongoing.

Williams has paid a common stock dividend every quarter since 1974

X date Sept 22nd

http://www.dividendinvestor.com/historical.php?no=37950

Mystery solved. ;)

[Timothy Smith]

Williams Cos. (WMB -4.2%) is downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo, citing “a less attractive risk-reward balance when considering the potential outcomes” of the review process on which bid to accept among several potential acquirers.

[Elmer Phud]

eastunder

Maybe once it's figured out and if they remain as they currently are, they will announce a div?

I spoke with investor relations today and was told that in the last CC they said the dividend would be 64 cents, but the current silence is deafening. A dividend announcement is way overdue. We are at or past what should be the ex-dividend date.

[eastunder]

Yes. I do.

Perhaps it is due to the fact they were in the middle of an auction?

Maybe once it's figured out and if they remain as they currently are, they will announce a div?

What is interesting is that the history for declaration has long passed. They declared Aug 21st in 2013 and 2014.... and 2015 they have gone silent?

http://www.dividendinvestor.com/historical.php?no=37950

Odd indeed.

Looks like they pay late September, so that's in our favor. There is plenty of time to declare and still pay out in this month keeping with the schedule.

[Elmer Phud]

Does anyone find it odd that nothing has been released regarding the next x-dividend date and payout date? It should be today or tomorrow and yet no word. Odd...