By Jessica Borders
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
The theme of the merger agreement between Allegheny Energy Inc. and FirstEnergy Corp. is “building a better company,” said Allegheny spokesman David Neurohr.
On Feb. 11, this $8.5 billion stock-for-stock transaction received unanimous approval from the boards of both companies, said Ellen Raines, spokeswoman for FirstEnergy. FirstEnergy will be issuing stock to finance the transaction, and then Allegheny shareholders will get .667 shares of FirstEnergy stock for every share of Allegheny that they own.
“We are really excited about the prospects of combining our companies and serving customers in West Virginia,” she said. “We think that our two companies are very similar.”
FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy are both regionally located, are contiguous and have a very similar business approach that emphasizes local accountability, management and responsibility, Raines said.
“We kind of share the same philosophy of customer service and reliability,” Neurohr added.
