Witt Stephens Jr.
Summit Utilities of Littleton, Colorado, said Monday that it has purchased 100 percent of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. of Fort Smith, which has been owned for 72 years by the Witt Stephens family of Arkansas.
Summit, based in Littleton, Colorado, has operations there and in Missouri. Terms of the deal, expected to close in the next eight months, were not disclosed.
The move, announced in a news release, will more than double Summit’s customer base. Arkansas Oklahoma Gas has about 60,000 customers in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma; Summit has about 40,000 customers, and plans to add 15,000 next year through a subsidiary in Maine.
Both companies are privately held.
“Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. has built a strong foundation in its service territories and a great reputation for quality customer service,” Summit President and CEO Kurt Adams said. “We are eager to welcome AOG into the Summit Utilities family and to work together to further the company’s success. At Summit Utilities, we see this acquisition as a merger of two great teams that build on each other’s strengths as we continue to grow.”
Witt Stephens Jr., son of the late Stephens Inc. of Little Rock founder W.R. “Witt” Stephens, said Arkansas Oklahoma Gas has been a “constant presence in our family.” Summit said it is acquiring 100 percent of the equity of AOG Corp.
“Our involvement with AOG has dramatically and favorably impacted our family, and we express gratitude to all past and present employees,” Stephens said in a news release. “It was important to our family that any acquirer of AOG continue its high standard of ethical and fair treatment of AOG’s customers and employees. We have confidence that Summit Utilities will continue those traditions and provide new opportunities for the employees as they focus on further growing the business.”
Centerview Partners LLC of New York served as financial advisor to Summit Utilities; Latham & Watkins LLP of Los Angeles was the company’s legal counsel. JP Morgan Chase & Co. of New York was financial adviser to Arkansas Oklahoma Gas; Rose Law Firm of Little Rock was its legal counsel.
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