Laclede Group to Acquire Energy Transfer Affiliate Assets for $1.035B

The Laclede Group

("Laclede"), Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.

("ETE") and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.

("ETP") today announced that two newly formed subsidiaries of Laclede have entered into definitive purchase and sale agreements with Southern Union Company ("Southern Union"), an affiliate of ETE and ETP, pursuant to which Laclede will acquire the assets of Southern Union's Missouri Gas Energy ("MGE") and New England Gas Company ("NEG") divisions (collectively, the "Utilities"). The value of the transaction is $1.035 billion, subject to customary closing adjustments, comprised of $1.015 billion in cash and nearly $20 million of assumed NEG debt.  The Utilities had combined revenues of approximately $517 million for the twelve months ended September 30, 2012, Laclede's fiscal year end, and serve over 500,000 customers in western Missouri and over 50,000 in Massachusetts.  Laclede expects the transaction to be neutral to its earnings per share in the first full year after close and accretive thereafter.  This transaction is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of calendar