Dominion Aims to Close Berkshire Deal by Nov 1

Virginia-based infrastructure operator Dominion Energy aims to close the $8bn sale of gas transmission and storage assets to an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway around November 1, it said in a statement on September 30.

The sale, announced in July, will see Dominion receive $2.7bn in cash, while the Berkshire Hathaway unit will assume $5.7bn of Dominion's debt. Separately, Dominion expects to close the sale of Questar Pipelines to Berkshire Hathaway after receiving antitrust approval in early 2021. That sale involves $1.3bn in cash and around $430mn in debt transfer.

Dominion added it had bought back over $500mn from the open market and was executing a $1.5bn accelerated share repurchase programme that will run until December. The company expects to have bought back at least $3bn of shares in total by early 2021. Dominion's core earnings are anticipated to be towards the top half of its $3.37-3.60/share range, the company added.