NU, ConEd File Merger Papers

NEW BRITAIN (AP) — Northeast Utilities and Consolidated Edison have filed paperwork with state regulators on their proposed $7.5 billion merger, which would create the nation’s largest electric distribution company.

No schedule has been set yet for Department of Public Utility Control hearings on the deal, but the companies have asked regulators to rule by June 1.

Under the proposed merger, NU would become a wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company being set up for the merger. NU, with headquarters in Berlin, would continue to run New England operations for the company out of Connecticut.

The companies do not plan layoffs and have pledged to honor union contracts.

The combined companies will have more than 5 million electric customers and more than 1.4 million natural gas customers from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania.

Consolidated Edison, of New York, will pay NU shareholders $25 per share in a combination of cash and stock.

The merger, which was announced October 13, requires the approval of shareholders and state and federal regulators.

NU, which owns Public Service Company of New Hampshire, has not filed merger papers in that state yet, said spokesman Martin Murray.