KKR has made an approximately $9 billion takeover bid for UGI Corporation, the Pennsylvania-based energy company whose businesses span natural gas and electric utilities, propane distribution and energy infrastructure, according to The WSJ. The private equity firm offered to acquire UGI for $42.50 per share, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proposed price represents a 21.1% premium to UGI’s $35.09 closing price on August 17. Before reports of the offer emerged, UGI had a market capitalization of approximately $7.5 billion. The proposal does not currently guarantee a transaction.
A successful acquisition would give KKR control of a diversified energy distribution and infrastructure company with operations spanning regulated utilities, midstream and energy marketing, international liquefied petroleum gas distribution and AmeriGas. UGI Utilities operates regulated natural gas and electric utility businesses.
Its natural gas utility serves more than 650,000 customers across portions of Pennsylvania and more than 500 customers in Maryland, while its electric utility serves more than 62,900 customers in northeastern Pennsylvania.
UGI also owns Mountaineer Gas Company, which distributes natural gas to more than 200,000 customers across 50 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.
The company’s midstream and marketing operations include natural gas storage, pipelines, gas peaking facilities, energy marketing and certain electric generation assets.
UGI also owns AmeriGas, the largest retail propane distribution business in the United States. AmeriGas serves more than 1.7 million customers across all 50 states through approximately 1,900 locations.
Internationally, UGI distributes liquefied petroleum gas in several European markets, although the company has been simplifying that portfolio through asset sales.
UGI announced in January that it had agreed to divest LPG operations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia for an enterprise value of approximately €48 million as part of its portfolio optimization strategy.
The company has also been reshaping its U.S. utility portfolio.
Earlier this year, UGI entered into an agreement to sell its electric division for approximately $470 million. That transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of calendar 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
KKR’s reported approach comes as energy infrastructure has attracted increasing investor attention amid rapidly rising electricity requirements from AI data centers and other large power consumers.
That growth has also increased focus on reliable energy sources, including natural gas, as developers seek enough power to support increasingly large computing facilities.
KKR has already been active in major energy infrastructure transactions this year.
In June, the firm agreed to acquire EDF Power Solutions’ U.S. and Canadian businesses in a transaction valuing the equity interests at approximately $4.2 billion, with up to another $390 million of potential payments.
KKR and Energy Capital Partners also recently reached an agreement to acquire DCC Energy in a transaction valuing that business at approximately £5.75 billion.
The reported $9 billion UGI proposal would further expand KKR’s exposure to an energy market increasingly shaped by the intersection of regulated utilities, natural gas infrastructure and surging power requirements.
At $42.50 per share, the proposal offers UGI shareholders a substantial premium to the company’s unaffected trading price, but it remains unclear whether UGI’s board will engage with KKR or whether the approach will ultimately lead to a definitive agreement.
