Exelon to buy Pepco for $6.8 billion

Energy provider Exelon Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to buy Pepco Holdings Inc., a transaction the companies said would create the leading electric and gas utility in the mid-Atlantic.

The deal is subject to federal approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as the public service commissions of the jurisdictions where Pepco operates.

{mosads}Chicago-based Exelon is both a utility distributor and a producer, generating most of its electricity from nuclear power at 14 plants. Pepco, an electricity distributor, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operates there and in parts of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

“Exelon and Pepco Holdings have a compelling strategic rationale for merging, given our geographic proximity and similar utility business models,” Exelon President Chris Crane said in a statement.

The all-cash deal is worth about $6.8 billion, or $27.25 a share, about 20 percent more than Pepco’s most recent share price. The boards of both companies have approved the deal.

Exelon and Pepco said they hope to close the deal by the third quarter of 2015.