HOUSTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Energy company Kinder Morgan Inc. said it was coordinating its affiliate companies under a single roof in a deal valued at more than $40 billion.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Kinder said all shareholders of subsidiaries Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan Management and El Paso Pipeline Partners will be united under the Kinder Morgan Inc. banner through an acquisition by the parent company.
"This combined entity will be the largest energy infrastructure company in North America and the third largest energy company overall with an estimated enterprise value of approximately $140 billion," he said in a statement Sunday. "Additionally, we will have a leading position in each of our business segments and operate in the rapidly growing North American energy infrastructure sector."
Combined, the Kinder Morgan entities shared stakes in or operated around 80,000 miles of oil and natural gas pipelines.
Steve Kean, chief operating officer for Kinder Morgan Inc., said in an interview with Fuel Fix, the Houston Chronicle's energy blog, more infrastructure in North America is needed to handle the glut of natural gas coming from the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania and what's expected to come from the Utica shale in Ohio.
"In the opportunity-rich environment of today's energy infrastructure sector, we believe this transaction gives us the ability to grow KMI for years to come," Kinder added in his statement.
