SCANA selling two subsidiaries

SCANA Corp. said Tuesday that it is selling two of its subsidiaries in a $650 million deal.

South Carolina’s Spirit Communications will buy SCANA Communications Inc. And Carolina Gas Transmission Corp. will be bought by Richmond’s Dominion Resources Inc., the Cayce-based energy giant said in a release.

Both transactions are expected to close within the first three months of next year.

Carolina Gas Transmission Corp. is a 1,500-mile interstate pipeline that runs through South Carolina and southeastern Georgia and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the release said. The communications company owns and operates a 1,125-mile fiber optic telecommunications network and Ethernet network and provides tower site construction, management and rental services in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The companies comprise about 2 percent of SCANA’s total assets and will allow the company to focus on its core retail business, SCANA’s CEO Kevin Marsh said in a statement. S.C. Electric & Gas is the company’s chief subsidiary, providing electric power to 686,000 customers in South Carolina and natural gas to 1.3 million customers in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

Dominion will retain Carolina Gas Transmission’s current employees, and most of the SCANA Communications employees will be offered jobs with Spirit, Marsh said.

“We are very pleased with these transactions, as the results will yield significant value for our existing shareholders,” SCANA’s executive vice president and CFO Jimmy Addison said in the release. He expects net earnings from the sale to exceed $400 million.

This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 9:29 AM with the headline "SCANA selling two subsidiaries."