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BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
Business Combinations
BUSINESS COMBINATION

On July 1, 2018, the Company completed the Acquisition of ETG and ELK. The Company completed the Acquisition for total consideration of $1.74 billion in cash, inclusive of $40.3 million of certain net working capital adjustments. Of the total, $1.73 billion relates to the acquisition of ETG, while $10.9 million relates to the acquisition of the ELK. In the second quarter of 2018, the Company completed public equity offerings and issued long-term debt to help fund the Acquisition (see Notes 6 and 14, respectively). The Acquisition supports the Company’s strategy of earnings growth derived from high-quality, regulated utilities. Further, the Acquisition expands the Company’s customer base in the natural gas industry, which drives efficiencies by providing a greater operating scale.

Preliminary purchase price allocations

The Acquisition was accounted for as a business combination using the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with GAAP, which includes GAAP for regulated operations. Under the acquisition method of accounting, the total estimated purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the net assets based on their estimated fair values. ETG's and ELK's regulated natural gas distribution operations are subject to rate-setting authorities of the BPU and the MPSC, respectively, which includes provisions in place that provide revenues to recover costs of service, including a carrying charge on most net assets and liabilities. Given the regulatory environment under which ETG and ELK operate, the historical book value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed approximate fair value.

The Company has not finalized its valuation of certain assets and liabilities in connection with the Acquisition. As such, the estimated measurements recorded to date are subject to change and these changes, if any, could be material. Any changes will be recorded as adjustments to the fair value of those assets and liabilities and residual amounts will be allocated to goodwill. The final valuation adjustments may also require adjustment to the consolidated statements of operations and cash flows. The final determination of these fair values will be completed as soon as possible but no later than one year from the Acquisition date.

The preliminary purchase price for the Acquisition has been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date and is as follows:

(in thousands)
ETG and ELK
Property, Plant and Equipment
$
1,089,342

Accounts Receivable
45,875

Provision for Uncollectibles
(6,579
)
Natural Gas in Storage
12,204

Materials and Supplies
345

Other Prepayments and Current Assets
200

Deferred Income Taxes
21,024

Regulatory Assets
136,213

Goodwill
731,029

     Total assets acquired
2,029,653

Accounts Payable
13,089

Other Current Liabilities
9,185

Environmental Remediation Costs - Current
7,100

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
3,213

Environmental Remediation Costs - Non Current
66,165

Regulatory Liabilities
189,509

Other
1,107

     Total liabilities assumed
289,368

          Total net assets acquired
$
1,740,285



Goodwill of $731.0 million arising from the Acquisition includes the potential synergies between ETG, ELK and the Company. The goodwill, of which $677.6 million is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes, was assigned to the ETG and ELK Utility Operations segments.

Conditions of approval

The Acquisition was subject to regulatory approval from the BPU and the MPSC. Approvals were obtained from both commissions, subject to various conditions. As a requirement for approval of the acquisition of ETG, the BPU mandated that the Company pay $15.0 million to existing ETG customers in the form of a one-time credit. As a requirement for approval of the acquisition of ELK, the MPSC mandated that the Company pay $0.3 million to existing ELK customers in the form of a one-time payout. See Note 10. Other key conditions of approval related to the acquisition include but are not limited to ETG filing a base rate case no later than June 2020.  Prior to its next base rate case, ETG will be required to maintain a capital structure that consists of no less than 46% common equity which excludes goodwill.  In December 2018, the Company successfully completed a refinancing related to ETG's $530.0 million 364-day term loan credit agreement to a long term permanent financing plan which was in accordance with the BPU stipulation, see Note 14 for further detail.

Consistent with acquisition approval, SJI was required to develop a plan, in concert with the BPU, to address the remaining aging infrastructure at ETG. In October 2018, ETG filed an IIP petition with the BPU seeking authorization to recover the costs associated with its proposed investment of approximately $518.0 million from 2019-2023 necessary to, among other things, replace its cast-iron and low-pressure vintage main and related services. The design of ETGs IIP includes a request for timely recovery of ETG's investment on a semi-annual basis through a separate rider recovery mechanism. A final decision from the BPU is anticipated in 2019.

Financial information of the acquirees

The amount of ETG and ELK revenues included in the Company's consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $128.9 million. The amount of ETG and ELK earnings included in the Company's consolidated statements of income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was a net loss of $5.2 million due to the seasonal nature of the business for the period owned and $15.3 million in payments to customers discussed under "Conditions to approval" above.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company recorded $49.4 million of acquisition-related expenses directly related to the Acquisition, inclusive of the $15.3 million in payments to customers. ETG and ELK's net loss of $5.2 million included these customer payments, but the remaining portion of the acquisition-related expenses did not impact ETG and ELK's operating loss during 2018.

Supplemental unaudited disclosure of pro forma information

The following supplemental unaudited pro forma information presents the combined results of SJI, ETG, and ELK as if the Acquisition occurred on January 1, 2017. This supplemental unaudited pro forma information has been prepared for comparative purposes and does not purport to be indicative of what would have occurred had the Acquisition occurred on January 1, 2017, nor is it indicative of any future results.

The pro forma results include adjustments for the financing impact of the Acquisition, along with the tax-related impacts. Other material non-recurring adjustments are reflected in the pro forma and described below:
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
Year Ended December 31
 
 
2018
 
2017
Revenues
 
$
1,829,823

 
$
1,555,124

Net (loss) income
 
$
74,770

 
$
(9,824
)
Earnings (loss) per share
 
$
0.89

 
$
(0.11
)


The supplemental unaudited pro forma net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was adjusted to exclude $34.1 million of acquisition-related costs, which includes one-time regulatory approval costs, but excludes financing adjustments and recurring charges.

The supplemental unaudited pro forma net income for the year ended December 31, 2017 was adjusted to include $34.1 million of acquisition-related costs, which excludes financing adjustments and recurring charges.