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UGI jumps after KKR reportedly makes $42.50 per-share bid
The Wall Street Journal said KKR offered about $9.0 billion for the energy distributor, a 21.1% premium to UGI's Monday close.
UGI Corp. shares rose 9.4% to $38.39 after The Wall Street Journal reported that KKR & Co. has made a bid of roughly $9 billion, or $42.50 per share, for the energy distributor, implying a 21.1% premium to UGI's Monday close. The report did not say a definitive agreement has been reached, and UGI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while KKR declined to comment, according to the article.
The reported offer would represent about 15 times the midpoint of UGI's reaffirmed fiscal 2026 non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance range of $2.75 to $2.90. The article notes UGI reported year-to-date non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS of $3.17, down from $3.55, and frames the bid as potentially supportive of the current earnings base, but not necessarily a maximum price if demand from AI data centers accelerates.
The company is positioned as more than a pure AI power play, with a portfolio that includes natural gas and electric utilities, pipelines, storage, AmeriGas propane distribution, and European energy operations. The bid also ties into the AI infrastructure theme highlighted by UGI's May partnership with Prime Data Centers to develop natural gas infrastructure for a planned AI and high-performance computing campus in Pennsylvania, which the article says could require demand exceeding 100,000 dekatherms per day within three to five years and involve midstream investment that could top $100 million.
The article adds that if an agreement is reached and completed, the reported offer would provide shareholders an immediate premium while shifting parts of regulatory, financing, and construction responsibilities to the transaction, rather than requiring UGI investors to fund infrastructure over multiple years.
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