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LAS VEGAS (AP) - The sale of Nevada's main electric utility to an Iowa company controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett was declared a done deal Thursday, after federal regulators gave their approval.
Las Vegas-based NV Energy Inc. and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, issued a joint statement after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice approved the $5.6 billion sale.
NV Energy will keep its name and remain a Nevada company, "committed to the people of this state and the communities we serve," said Michael Yackira, who gave up the title of NV Energy president to MidAmerican Solar executive Paul Caudill.
Yackira cast the sale to Silver Merger Sub Inc., a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, as a chance for Nevada utility employees to tap the resources of a larger organization. He called the sale "a solid fit."
Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican, focused on the combined strengths of the two companies.
"I'm confident that with the legacy Michael Yackira and his team have created and Paul Caudill's leadership going forward, NV Energy will continue to produce great results for Nevada," Abel said.
The two companies announced May 29 that MidAmerican would buy all outstanding NV Energy shares for $23.75 in cash. The transaction was approved by directors of both companies and NV Energy shareholders. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada gave its approval Tuesday.
NV Energy customers are due to receive a one-time credit on their bills totaling $20 million within the next 30 days.
NV Energy is the parent company of Nevada Power Co. in Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power in northern Nevada. The two companies tally 1.3 million electricity and natural gas customers, covering 2.4 million of the state's 2.7 million residents.
MidAmerican Energy is a subsidiary of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
MidAmerican, with 16,000 employees and assets of $52 billion, serves 6.4 million electricity and 700,000 natural gas customers.
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