November 2, 2015 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investigation on behalf of investors, who currently hold shares of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (NYSE:PNY), was announced concerning whether the takeover of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. by Duke Energy for $60 per share is unfair to NYSE:PNY stockholders.

The investigation by a law firm concerns whether certain officers and directors of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. breached their fiduciary duties owed to NYSE:PNY investors in connection with the proposed acquisition.

On October 26, 2015, Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (NYSE:PNY) announced the boards of directors of both companies have approved an agreement for Duke Energy to acquire Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. for approximately $4.9 billion in cash. Upon transaction closing, Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (NYSE:PNY) shareholders will receive $60 in cash for each share of Piedmont Natural Gas common stock.
However, the investigation concerns whether the offer is unfair to NYSE:PNY stockholders. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether the Piedmont Natural Gas Company Board of Directors undertook an adequate sales process, adequately shopped the company before entering into the transaction, maximized shareholder value by negotiating the best price, and acted in the shareholders' best interests in connection with the proposed sale.

Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. reported that its Total Revenue rose from over $1.12 billion for the 12 months period that ended on October 31, 2012 to over $1.46 billion for the 12 months period that ended on October 31, 2014, and that its Net Income for those respective time periods increased from $119.85 million to $143.80 million.