Gas South said it has struck a deal — all negotiated virtually and by phone — that will more than double its size and put its name on a high-profile property in Gwinnett County.
The Cobb County-based natural gas marketer, a subsidiary of electric cooperative Cobb EMC, said its planned acquisition of Gainesville, Fla.-based Infinite Energy will increase Gas South’s annual revenue from nearly $400 million to about $1 billion.
It will have 425,000 customers — about 125,000 more than now — in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas and have a broader wholesale business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Infinite Energy has its name on the buildings in Gwinnett County’s convention center and entertainment complex, including the Infinite Energy Arena, off Interstate 85 near Duluth.
Gas South’s chief executive officer, Kevin Greiner, said the company is discussing rebranding the complex under the Gas South name and logo. Infinite is about five years into its 20-year, $18 million naming rights deal.
The headquarters for Gas South will remain in Cobb, where the business employs about 240 people. But the company said it would retain a presence in Gainesville, Fla., where most of Infinite’s 300 employees are located.
Greiner said it is too soon to say how many employees ultimately will be based in metro Atlanta. But he said the success of Gas South’s work-from-home efforts during the pandemic helped convince him that long-term remote working is a viable option.
“Having to require relocation, that seems to be an outdated notion,” Greiner said.
The pandemic also meant that there was no physical handshake in the deal. The entire negotiating process was handled through Microsoft Teams or by phone, Greiner said.
Greiner said the new combination would give Gas South about as much market share in Georgia as each of the state’s two biggest natural gas marketers by volume: Georgia Natural Gas and SCANA Energy.
Gas South said it will acquire Infinite’s wholesale and retail natural gas business and customer list, but not its Texas retail electricity business. Greiner said he expects the deal to be finalized before the end of the year.
About the Author
