The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Oct. 7, edition that Emera is bidding to build a national champion in the utility sector by merging with Canadian Utilities and parent Atco in a $14.3-billion marriage. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that Emera announced Tuesday a friendly all-stock offer for Alberta peers controlled by the Southern family in a deal that would create one of the 20 largest utilities in North America. The combined companies would have an enterprise value -- their debt plus equity -- of $72-billion, which the three said would rank as one of the largest mergers in Canadian history. The bulked-up company would be well positioned to compete with American rivals vying for the massive projects driven by a fast-growing demand for energy. Emera says the merger will create a company with the scale and financial strength needed to build networks that support projects such as datacentres, new natural gas pipelines and integrated provincial electrical grids. Emera has a $21-billion market capitalization and said the deal values Atco and Canadian Utilities' shares at $14.3-billion, giving the merger an equity value of $35.3-billion. Emera, Atco and Canadian Utilities have been in talks for 15 months.