ONEOK To Spin Off Natural Gas Distribution Business

(RTTNews) - ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) said Wednesday that its board of directors has approved the separation of the company's natural gas distribution business into a stand-alone, publicly traded company that will be called ONE Gas, Inc.   ONEOK shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 21 will retain their current shares of ONEOK stock and receive one share of ONE Gas stock for every four shares of ONEOK stock owned.  No fractional shares of ONE Gas stock will be issued; however, shareholders entitled to receive a fractional share of ONE Gas stock in the distribution will receive the cash value of that fractional share instead.

The ONE Gas shares will be distributed following the close of business on Jan. 31, and the transaction will close.

ONE Gas common stock is expected to begin "regular-way" trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 3 under the symbol "OGS." ONEOK will continue to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "OKE."

At closing, Terry Spencer will become president and chief executive officer of ONEOK. Spencer succeeds John Gibson who will retire after more than seven years as chief executive officer of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners and almost 14 years with the company, and become non-executive chairman of ONEOK, ONEOK Partners, L.P. (OKS) and ONE Gas.

At closing, Pierce Norton II will become president and chief executive officer of ONE Gas.

Following the separation, ONEOK will reduce its long-term debt with the proceeds from a one-time cash payment from ONE Gas - estimated to be about $1.13 billion - as part of the transfer of the natural gas distribution business to ONE Gas from ONEOK. ONE Gas will fund this transfer to ONEOK by issuing its own long-term debt in mid-January.