Out Fox The $treet

Williams' management continues pursuing the merger with ETE via litigation. . The financials and stock prices support the company letting go. . The recommendation is to own the stock with the speculation that the BOD is bluffing on closing the deal in order to get rightful compensation from ETE for walking away. In a surprise tone,  Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB )  management actually sounds intent on forcing  Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE )  to complete the much maligned merger. The relationship has turned very acrimonious suggesting an integration of the two companies would be difficult and questioning the value it taking extraordinary steps to force the merger closure. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.   Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Williams' investors need to start considering the financial picture of the company on a standalone basis. The news flow regarding the merger with ETE suggests both sides want to terminate the deal without the related party paying termination fees. Williams is intriguing with the partnership not requiring an equity raise this year to fund the reduced capital plan. The  latest news  seems to confirm that Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE ) and Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ) are doing everything possible to terminate the merger. In those regards, investors need to shift the mindset back to valuing Williams as a standalone entity with a majority position in Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ ).  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.     Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

More questions swirl about the ETE and Williams deal. A termination fee paid to Williams would quickly shore up dividend coverage and funding requirements of the next year or more. Based on the news, Williams is a stock to avoid unless more details emerge suggesting a termination fee is actually forthcoming that would provide an opportunity for the company. Despite a market rally on Thursday,  Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB )  traded down over 3% on a couple of headlines that reinforce the risk surrounding the stock. My  previous questions regarding the risk in the stock are only magnified now. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: No postions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

Williams agrees to fee cuts for higher volumes from Chesapeake Energy. The auction process for the company remains in limbo placing the positive merger with Williams Partners and the promised higher dividends on hold. The uncertainty around Williams makes the stock difficult to own despite the collapsing price. In possibly a somewhat surprising move, Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ) subsidiary Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ ) agreed to lower the gathering and processing costs for Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK ) for higher future volumes. The move is rare for the MLP sector and has some troubling implications despite the signaling by Williams that the move is a win-win for both parties. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Williams rejects unsolicited bid for $64 and plans to explore strategic alternatives. Energy Transfer Equity proposes that a merger with Williams will provide a higher dividend and growth. The lack of details from Energy Transfer Equity makes it difficult to understand how it can propose a higher dividend after shifting to a C corp. The proposed offering doesn't provide much of a premium to where Williams likely trades in 2016 as a standalone stock. On the headlines only, it is initially difficult to see how a $48 stock could turn down a $64 offer. In the case of Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB ) , the executives did just that. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

On the back of a nearly 25% gain following the ( NYSE: WMB     ) proposed deal to acquire parts of Access Midstream Partners L.P. ( NYSE: ACMP     ) it doesn't already own and merge them with Williams Partners L.P. ( NYSE: WPZ     ) ,  Williams Companies  ( NYSE: WMB     ) investors have to wonder if the deal was really that good. The deal is naturally interesting in that it provides Williams with access to the rapidly growing infrastructure needs in most of the primary shale plays. On the back of the deal, Williams proposes increasing the third quarter dividend by an astonishing 32% to an annualized rate of $2.24, providing the impetus for the stock gains. The company quickly rushed out to sell stock to pay for the deal, further suggesting that its stock rose too fast. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

The news came out last Friday that activists had raised their stake in Williams Companies ( NYSE: WMB     ) . The activist firms of Corvex Management and Soroban Capital Partners had previously claimed a 5% position back in Dec. in hopes of pushing the large pipeline operator into consolidating the industry to spur growth. The firms are so adamant that Williams has more potential that combined they've spent an astronomical $2.5 billion to build a near 10% position. The firms spent the previous week amassing around 1.2 million shares per day with limited impact to the stock. From a potential investor's standpoint, what strikes an interesting cord is that Williams doesn't appear to offer much value from the outside. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the full disclaimer page for more details. 

Williams Companies ( WMB ) has consistently missed earnings estimates over the last year, but the company has a ton of growth opportunities in the decade ahead. The company has been hit with lower natural gas liquids (NGL) margins and Ethane rejections along with higher natural gas prices. Williams has one of the leading energy infrastructures in North America. It owns interests in, or operates, 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines. It owns more than 70% of Williams Partners L.P. ( WPZ ) , one of the largest diversified energy master limited partnerships. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.

In a rare move, Williams Companies (WMB) has been forecasting substantial dividend growth through 2014. Typically management teams prefer to keep dividend increases under wraps in order to 'surprise' the market with increases and generally temper expectations. The company has one of the leading energy infrastructures in North America. It owns interests in or operates 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines. It owns more than 70% of Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ) , one of the largest diversified energy master limited partnerships. On Tuesday, the company announced a significant investment of $2.4B in Access Midstream Partners (ACMP) . Access conversely announced plans to purchase pipeline assets from Chesapeake Energy (CHK) for $2.16B. These transactions could improve the dividend potential at Williams by 2014. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No ...