National Fuel Gas completes $2.62 billion purchase of Vectren's Ohio utility
The deal, closed effective October 1, was funded with $1.42 billion in cash and a $1.20 billion promissory note owed to CenterPoint Energy
Published
National Fuel Gas has closed its purchase of CenterPoint Energy's Ohio natural gas utility, Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, for an aggregate price of $2.62 billion, effective October 1, 2026.
The business serves approximately 335,000 customers across 16 counties in the Dayton and Miami Valley region and will be renamed National Fuel Gas Distribution of Ohio. National Fuel says the acquisition doubles its utility rate base and lifts its total utility customer count to approximately 1.1 million.
National Fuel paid $1.42 billion of the price in cash. The remaining $1.20 billion was issued as a promissory note to CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. under a Seller Note Agreement, an unsecured term loan that matures September 30, 2027 and carries interest of 6.5% a year.
That note is the detail investors are watching. Rather than paying the full price in cash, National Fuel now carries a fixed 6.5% obligation coming due in under a year, even as it immediately gains a new customer base and rate-regulated earnings stream. How quickly the larger customer base adds to earnings, while National Fuel integrates a new state regulator and rebrands the acquired business, will determine how that leverage is absorbed.