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Spire Completes Major Tennessee Natural Gas Utility Acquisition

Story Highlights
  • Spire has closed a $2.48 billion deal for Piedmont’s Tennessee gas business, creating Spire Tennessee and making it the state’s largest investor-owned gas utility.
  • To finance the acquisition and strengthen its balance sheet, Spire drew an $800 million term loan and Spire Tennessee issued $825 million in senior notes, while integrating over 200 employees and targeting sustained earnings growth.
  • Looking for the best stocks to buy? Follow the recommendations of top-performing analysts.
Spire Completes Major Tennessee Natural Gas Utility Acquisition

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Spire ( (SR) ) just unveiled an update.

On March 31, 2026, Spire Inc. completed its $2.48 billion cash acquisition of Duke Energy’s Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee business, rebranding the operations as Spire Tennessee. The deal significantly expands Spire’s regulated footprint into the high-growth Nashville region and positions Spire Tennessee as the largest investor-owned natural gas utility in the state.

To fund the acquisition and bolster liquidity, Spire entered into an $800 million delayed draw senior unsecured term loan on March 26, 2026, which was fully drawn on March 31, 2026, and matures in March 2027. On the same date, its subsidiary Spire Tennessee issued $825 million of senior unsecured notes in a private placement, with proceeds earmarked for refinancing existing debt and general corporate purposes.

More than 200 former Piedmont employees in Tennessee have joined Spire Tennessee, with additional hiring under way to support operations and growth in the region. Spire plans to integrate the business into its existing utility platform, leverage Tennessee’s constructive regulatory environment, and maintain its long-term goal of 5–7% adjusted earnings per share growth while committing to a seamless transition for customers and communities.

The most recent analyst rating on (SR) stock is a Buy with a $105.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Spire stock, see the SR Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on SR Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, SR is a Neutral.

The score is driven mainly by improving profitability and a constructive technical uptrend, supported by reasonable valuation and positive, reaffirmed guidance. The primary offset is financial quality risk from persistently negative free cash flow and leverage concerns reflected in the annual balance sheet data.

To see Spark’s full report on SR stock, click here.

More about Spire

Spire Inc. is one of the largest publicly traded natural gas companies in the U.S., serving nearly 2 million homes and businesses through regulated utilities in Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The company also operates natural gas-related businesses, including Spire Marketing and Spire Midstream, and focuses on organic growth, infrastructure investment and operational efficiency.

Spire’s regulated utility operations now include Spire Tennessee, which has become the largest investor-owned natural gas utility in Tennessee. Operating in the fast-growing Nashville metro area and surrounding communities, Spire Tennessee serves more than 200,000 customers and manages nearly 3,800 miles of distribution and transmission pipelines.

Average Trading Volume: 383,106

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: $5.4B

See more insights into SR stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.

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