Williams Cos. has received U.S. approval for its $3.9 billion purchase of Mapco Inc. by agreeing to provide pipeline capacity to another company in the Midwest and to allow others to connect to its Wyoming gas-processing plants.
Williams said two weeks ago it had agreed on a settlement with Federal Trade Commission staff lawyers. The commission on Friday said it signed off on the agreement, allowing the combination to go forward.
Williams previously said it expects to complete the Mapco purchase by the end of March.
Under the settlement, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, an operator of propane terminals, will have the right to lease Williams pipelines in parts of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Kinder Morgan’s terminals compete with facilities now owned by Mapco, and the FTC said the settlement would make sure Kinder Morgan wasn’t denied access to propane.
The FTC said it also wanted to ensure that a rival company could build a pipeline in competition with a Mapco line in southern Wyoming.
Right now, Mapco owns the only pipeline to connect those plants to so-called fractionation centers, where gas mixtures are separated into component parts.
The FTC said that, without the changes, the acquisition would have driven up costs by more than $10 million a year in those two areas.
Williams shares on Friday rose 6 cents, to $31.31, and Mapco stock added 31 cents, to $52.12. Both companies are based in Tulsa.
