UPDATE: Bank of America Increases PO of Suburban Propane Partners to $47

According to a research report this morning, Bank of America increases Suburban Propane Partners

from $46 to $47 following announcement of acquisition of the retail propane operations of Inergy

for $1.8bn. Bank of America explained, “Through this transaction, SPH will essentially double its market share in a fragmented industry, with only two other major competitors (APU and FGP). We like this deal for several reasons: 1) looks to be nicely accretive to SPH distributable cash flow (DCF), 2) scale of deal should allay concerns over medium-term growth due to secular and cyclical issues plaguing the retail propane industry, and 3) mgmt experience in successfully executing acquisitions through aggressive cost rationalizations.” Suburban Propane Partners closed yesterday at $42.53 as Bank of America maintains its Neutral rating.