Feb 23, 2022
NiSource to Weigh Selling or Buying Utilities in Business Review
Bloomberg News
,![Power lines and transmission towers at sunrise in Crockett, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. On Tuesday -- just as California was preparing to plunge as many as 6 million people into darkness to save the power system from one of the worst heat waves in generations -- blazes torched tens of thousands of acres, forcing people to flee their homes and prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency only days into the peak of the wildfire season. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg, Bloomberg Power lines and transmission towers at sunrise in Crockett, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. On Tuesday -- just as California was preparing to plunge as many as 6 million people into darkness to save the power system from one of the worst heat waves in generations -- blazes torched tens of thousands of acres, forcing people to flee their homes and prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency only days into the peak of the wildfire season. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg](/polopoly_fs/1.1727634.1645640555!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/power-lines-and-transmission-towers-at-sunrise-in-crockett-california-u-s-on-wednesday-aug-19-2020-on-tuesday-just-as-california-was-preparing-to-plunge-as-many-as-6-million-people-into-darkness-to-save-the-power-system-from-one-of-the-worst-heat-waves-in-generations-blazes-torched-tens-of-thousands-of-acres-forcing-people-to-flee-their-homes-and-prompting-california-governor-gavin-newsom-to-declare-a-state-of-emergency-only-days-into-the-peak-of-the-wildfire-season-photographer-david-paul-morris-bloomberg.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- NiSource Inc. will consider buying or selling utility assets as part of a business review that is being encouraged by activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
“We’re going to take a hard look at everything,” newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Yates said Wednesday during an earnings call with analysts.
NiSource owns natural gas utilities that serve more than 3.2 million customers in six U.S. states and provides electric service to about 500,000 customers in Indiana. Yates said the company will update investors on its review in May, though he doesn’t expect the process to be finished by then.
Shares of NiSource rose 0.3% to $28.44 at 12:34 p.m. in New York. The stock has gained 3% this year.
Elliott disclosed its stake in the Merrillville, Indiana-based company in January without saying how much it owns. The firm said it supported NiSource’s move to appoint Yates, who became CEO on Feb. 14, and his plan to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company. Another investor, HITE Hedge Asset Management, has urged NiSource to pursue a deal to go private because public markets are undervaluing the firm’s gas distribution businesses.
Yates said in Wednesday’s call that investors are placing higher valuations on electric utilities compared to gas distribution companies, and he will weigh that as part of the review. Environmental groups and climate advocates have been pushing for a phaseout of natural gas use in homes and businesses as part of efforts to combat global warming -- though Yates said he doesn’t think the company needs to get out of gas.
“I think within the states that we operate in, gas is very valuable,” he said. “It may not be popular, but it’s valuable.”
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