Kinder Eyes Return to Dividend Growth After Southern Deal
- Sale of 50% stake in major gas pipeline will lower debt
- Southern approached Kinder about transaction a year ago
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Kinder Morgan Inc. may boost its shrunken dividend and resume share buybacks after the sale of half its stake in a major U.S. natural gas pipeline helps whittle the company’s $40.2 billion debt burden.
A key measure of Kinder’s ability to pay debts may improve more than previously forecast by the end of this year, thanks to a $1.47 billion deal announced on July 10 to sell 50 percent of the Southern Natural Gas pipeline network to power producer Southern Co., Kinder executives said during a conference call on Monday.