Merger

Marriott International Inc. struck a definitive deal yesterday regarding future ownership and operations of 62 Marriott hotels, paving the way for completion of a $2.1 billion merger between Patriot American Hospitality Inc. and Interstate Hotels Co.The Bethesda-based hotel company had sued the pair in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to block the merger, because Patriot American intended to convert 10 Marriott hotels owned by Interstate to its Wyndham brand....

Exelon Corp. and Constellation have donated $1.8 million for a new energy exhibit at the Maryland Science Center , the first public display of their charitable commitment to the city and state since the merger between the energy giants closed in March, the companies announced Tuesday. In acquiring Constellation, Exelon promised to maintain the Baltimore company's annual charitable contribution of $7 million in Baltimore and Maryland for at least a decade. The financial commitment was part of a $1 billion package of concessions associated with regulatory approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Hannah Cho's recent article ("O'Malley praises Exelon-CEG deal," Dec. 16) reported on a far superior merger agreement between Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy Group than previous arrangements. Between 1999 and 2009, electricity prices across Maryland doubled, hurting businesses and families across the state. And although prices have fallen in the last two years, it is clear that we not only need the $100 credit that the Exelon-CEG merger will provide, but also a permanent rate relief solution.

While Constellation Energy Group has a new owner in Exelon Corp., 450 workers at three coal-fired plants once owned by the Baltimore company are in limbo. As a condition of its purchase of Constellation last month, the Chicago energy giant has committed to selling the Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner plants in Anne Arundel County and the C.P. Crane plant in Baltimore County by the end of the year. The sale is not expected to be easy, because the economic prospects for coal plants have dimmed, given falling natural gas prices and stricter air-quality regulations due to come online over the next few years, analysts said.

At a glance General Growth Properties •Owns or manages more than 200 regional malls in 43 states •Owns planned community developments and commercial office buildings •Portfolio totals about 200 million square feet of retail space with more than 24,000 stores nationwide. •Headquartered in Chicago •Tuesday closing stock price $12.02 per share, up nearly 28 percent, on over-the-counter Pink OTC Markets Inc. Simon Property Group •Largest public real estate company in the U.S. •Owns or has an interest in 382 properties including regional malls, outlet centers, The Mills centers, community/lifestyle centers and international properties •Owns or has interest in 261 million square feet of space.

Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association officials have opted not to pursue a merger with the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference that would have created an exceptionally strong football conference including the top private and parochial school programs in the Baltimore-Washington area. Rick Diggs, executive director of the MIAA, said Thursday morning that the decision was made during the annual MIAA athletic directors' three-day workshop. "We just decided at our meeting yesterday that we're not going to pursue the merger any longer," Diggs said.

Thanks to competition between AirTran and Southwest Airlines, you can choose from more than a dozen daily flights from Baltimore to Orlando, Fla. A little more than $200 — less if you catch a sale — gets you to Disney World and back. The market works — but only as long as regulators set rules to keep it strong. And if the government doesn't do just that by intervening in Southwest's proposed acquisition of AirTran, watch fares from Baltimore to Orlando and many other places take off like a Boeing 737. "Travelers in Baltimore could potentially really feel the loss of competition there," says Diana Moss, a vice president at the American Antitrust Institute in Washington who closely follows airlines.

Maryland energy regulators are expected to issue a decision Friday on the proposed sale of Constellation Energy Group to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The decision comes after the state Public Service Commission launched an exhaustive review of the $7.9 billion deal, involving 13 days of hearings, three public comment sessions and thousands of pages of documents. Analysts think that the proposed merger hinges on approval by Maryland regulators. The deal also still requires approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

If Nolan Archibald, CEO of Black & Decker, truly believes the merger with Stanley had "nothing to do with greed" ("Black & Decker merger approved," March 13), a nice gesture would be to give each of the 250 corporate workers in Towson who may be "let go" $100,000 of his own money. This would only cost him $25 million, or 28 percent of his estimated $89 million total compensation over the next three years. Scott White, Baltimore

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents identified two very good reasons not to move forward right now with a merger of Maryland's flagship campus in College Park with its professional schools in Baltimore. The first is that doing a merger right would cost something on the order of a quarter billion dollars — money necessary to integrate data systems, create new research programs and build new facilities. Given the fiscal strain the state is under, that's not a realistic possibility right now. The second good reason is that, as Chancellor William E. "Britt" Kirwan pointed out, mergers do not work well when one side is opposed to it, and that appears inescapably to be the case with the Baltimore schools and virtually all civic leaders in the city.

BGE's 1.1 million residential customers will get a nice surprise in their May bill: a $100 credit on their accounts. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. announced Friday that most customers will receive the credit by the end of May. The ratepayer relief is part of the merger between BGE's parent Constellation Energy Group and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The two companies agreed to provide the rate credit under an agreement with Maryland energy regulators, which approved the deal in February.

When the sale of Constellation Energy Group to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. was announced last April, Calvin G. Butler Jr. was in Baltimore, ready to build support and win over critics. Butler, 42, Exelon's senior vice president of corporate affairs, took up residence at Spinnaker Bay apartments in Harbor East for almost a year while he served as the company's eyes and ears in Maryland. He met with state and city officials, business leaders and nonprofits, including those skeptical about the deal's benefits for consumers and Baltimore.

Maryland energy regulators have ordered Exelon Corp. to explain how the company "inadvertently" violated some conditions related to its merger with Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group. As part of Maryland Public Service Commission's approval for the deal, the companies agreed to several conditions, including selling Constellation's three coal-fired plants in Maryland to mitigate concerns over market concentration in the mid-Atlantic electricity grid. Until the plants could be sold, the companies agreed to sell power from those facilities as well as others in the region's wholesale energy market at a price it costs to operate the plants, said Exelon spokeswoman Judith Rader.

SECU, Maryland's largest state-chartered credit union, announced Tuesday that it will acquire Anne Arundel County Employees Federal Credit Union. The proposed merger — with SECU as the surviving entity — would expand banking services and access to AACE FCU, which has 14,000 members and $81 million in assets, the financial cooperatives said. The Anne Arundel County employees credit union joins the larger entity, which has over 225,000 members and $2.26 billion in assets.

Constellation Energy Group and Exelon Corp. are expected to close their $7.9 billion merger Monday, after the deal cleared its final regulatory hurdle Friday. The approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ends an almost yearlong effort to combine the companies — creating the largest non-utility energy provider in the United States. The deal also means that Baltimore will lose its last Fortune 500 company; the new company will be headquartered in Chicago but will maintain a large footprint here, including a new building in Harbor Point.

Constellation Energy Group, which is being sold to Chicago-based Exelon Corp., will be replaced on the S&P 500 index by a Houston wireless company. Exelon is acquiring Constellation in a $7.9 billion deal that is waiting for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. S&P will announce the date when Crown Castle International Corp. is to replace Constellation on the index after the merger deal closes. Hanah.cho@baltsun.com Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy Group have reached an agreement with Electricite de France, a large Constellation shareholder, for the French utility to withdraw its opposition to a proposed merger between the companies. The terms of the agreement address Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, a joint venture between Constellation and EDF that owns and operates three nuclear facilities with generating units in Maryland and New York. No payment was made by either party associated with the agreement, which reaffirms the terms of the joint venture.

The state's consumer advocate on utility matters continues to push for additional concessions to make the Constellation-Exelon merger more palatable to consumers. The Maryland Office of People's Counsel said in a brief filed Monday that the two energy giants have not demonstrated that the proposed $7.9 billion merger is in the public's interest and would not harm customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric, Constellation's regulated utility. The People's Counsel also said the companies' settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state did not allay its concerns.

Financially troubled St. Joseph Medical Centermay soon become part of a hospital system that does not follow its strict Catholic beliefs on abortion and reproductive rights. The Towson hospital's owner, Catholic Health Initiatives, put it up for sale after a surgical scandal threatened its business and besmirched its reputation. Two of its three remaining suitors are not Catholic institutions, which typically follow a religious doctrine that includes morning prayer and the prohibition of many women's services, such as abortion, sterilization, tubal ligations and in-vitro fertilization.

Constellation Energy Group's three directors have been named to serve on Exelon's board of directors once the merger between the two energy giants is completed Constellation Energy Group's three directors have been named to serve on Exelon's board of directors once the merger between the two energy giants is completed, according to documents filed Wednesday. Ann C. Berzin, a Constellation director since 2008; Yves C. de Balmann, a director since 2003; and Robert J. Lawless, a director since 2002, are to join Constellation Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mayo A. Shattuck III, who was previously named as executive chairman of the board.