[CALGARY] TransCanada Corp agreed to buy Columbia Pipeline Group Inc for US$10.2 billion, expanding its reach in the US natural gas market. TransCanada will pay US$25.50 a share to Columbia holders, representing a 10.9 per cent premium to Columbia's closing price on March 16, and will also assume about US$2.8 billion of debt, it said in a statementon Thursday. The Calgary-based company will fund the purchase with proceeds from asset sales and a C$4.2 billion (S$4.32 billion) offering of new shares. The deal gives TransCanada more than 24,000km of natural gas pipelines as well as underground storage and processing facilities owned and operated by Columbia, adding a position in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. TransCanada may augment its annual dividend growth rate of eight to 10 per cent per year with the deal, the company said.