Duke Energy stands to gain $2.48 billion in cash with the sale of its Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee local distribution company business to Spire Inc., one of the nation’s largest publicly traded natural gas companies.

Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Piedmont Natural Gas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), to acquire its Tennessee local distribution company business that serves more than 200,

With an announced $2.5 billion move, Spire continues a decade-plus run of predominantly fueling its expansion by buying gas utilities in the South.