Energy Transfer Told to Pay $410 Million Over Williams Deal (2)

Oil-pipeline giant Energy Transfer LP must pay $410 million for scuttling a $33 billion merger with rival Williams Cos. over a tax flaw in the deal, a judge concluded.

Since Dallas-based Energy Transfer -- owned by billionaire Kelcy Warren -- successfully pulled the plug on the 2016 combination, it’s required under the merger agreement to pay a so-called break-up fee, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III ruled Wednesday.

“Having called a dirge for the merger,” Energy Transfer “must pay the piper,” Glasscock said in his 95-page ruling in the more than five-year dispute over the deal.

Glasscock’s ruling marks ...