The deal also makes TransCanada the largest North American natural gas storage business, with 664 billion cubic feet of capacity.
TransCanada paid $25.50 per common share in cash and assumed $2.8 billion of debt in the deal, gaining access to Columbia's 24,000-kilometre gas pipeline network, the vast majority of which lies in the prolific Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
"This acquisition is a tremendous opportunity to obtain a competitively-positioned, growing network of regulated natural gas pipelines and storage assets in the heart of the Marcellus and Utica basins," said TransCanada president and chief executive Russ Girling.
