=Dominion Energy (D) to buy Scana (SCG)

• Dominion Energy and SCANA Corporation (SCG) announce a stock-for-stock merger in which SCANA shareholders would receive 0.6690 shares of Dominion Energy common stock for each share of SCANA common stock, the equivalent of $55.35/per share

REUTERS - Dominion Energy Inc said on Wednesday it would buy Scana Corp in an all-stock deal worth about $7.9 billion, offering the utility a way out of dealing with unhappy customers and federal investigations following a failed nuclear project.

Dominion will pay Scana's customers $1.3 billion, averaging about $1,000 for each customer, and has promised to cut bills by 5 percent to appease users who have been overcharged for years as Scana funded the nuclear project.

Shares of Dominion, which will also assume Scana's debt of $6.7 billion, were down 3 percent.

Dominion's $55.35 per share offer represents a premium of 42.4 percent to Scana's last closing price of $38.87. Scana's shares were trading well below the offer price at $47.79, suggesting some investors were skeptical of the deal.

Scana, which owns the South Carolina Electric & Gas Co (SCE&G), has been under pressure ever since it scrapped the V.C. Summer nuclear project in July after spending about $9 billion on it with Santee Cooper.

Scana was funding some of the project's costs from SCE&G, a move that angered customers and led to the utility rolling back electricity rates for residential users.

The nuclear project became a lightning rod for criticism, with local politicians arguing over who should pay for the aborted project.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said while the deal is a step in the right direction, it will not resolve all problems for customers.