Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, El Paso LLC, has reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted against all defendants by the former shareholders of El Paso Corporation arising from the acquisition of El Paso by Kinder Morgan, which closed May 24. As previously disclosed in KMI's second quarter 10-Q, the settlement amount is $110 million.
The settlement is subject to, among other conditions, approval by the Delaware Chancery Court.
The company believes that resolving these claims at this time, avoiding the expense and uncertainty of continued litigation, and putting this matter behind it are in the best interest of its shareholders.
El Paso shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger, with more than 95 percent of the shares that voted cast in favor of the transaction. KMI shareholders also approved the merger, with all shares that voted cast in favor of the transaction.
The consideration received by El Paso shareholders was valued at $26.87 per share based on KMI's closing price as of October 14, 2011, representing a 47 percent premium to the 20-day average closing price of El Paso common shares and a 37 percent premium over the closing price of El Paso common shares on Oct. 14, 2011.
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