Why Inergy's Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares if Inergy (NYS: NRGY) are up 17% today after the company agreed to sell its retail propane business to Suburban Propane (NYS: SPH) for $1.8 billion.

So what: Inergy will get $200 million in cash, $600 million in common units, and up to $1 billion in senior notes for the business. Shareholders will get their corresponding share of 13.7 million common units of Suburban following their registration with regulators.

Now what: Inergy's market cap is still just $2.5 billion after the deal, and this will give the company a chance to pay down some debt if it chose to. I am also concerned about what the loss of 600,000 customers will mean to future earnings and the company's dividend payout. I'll take a wait-and-see approach to the stock because I would like to see what the direct impact will be and what management will do with the money.

Interested in more info on Inergy? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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