CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Gas Natural Inc. (NYSE MKT: EGAS) (the “Company”), a holding company operating local natural gas utilities serving approximately 70,000 customers in four states, announced a special cash dividend equal to $0.0008152 per share of common stock for each day elapsed from and including July 1, 2017 and ending on the first business day prior to the closing date of the previously announced merger with FR Bison Merger Sub, Inc. (“FR Bison”). FR Bison is an indirect affiliate of BlackRock, Inc. through BlackRock’s acquisition of First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Funds.

The special dividend will be payable to shareholders of record at the close of business on the business day prior to the merger closing date, which is not yet known. The dividend is permitted by the terms of the agreement and plan of merger filed by the Company on Form 8-K on October 11, 2016.

The special dividend will not be paid if the merger agreement is terminated or the merger does not close on or before September 30, 2017, in which case it will be replaced by the Company’s quarterly dividend.

About Gas Natural Inc.

Gas Natural Inc., a holding company, distributes and sells natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. It distributes approximately 21 billion cubic feet of natural gas to roughly 70,000 customers through regulated utilities operating in Montana, Ohio, Maine and North Carolina. The Company’s other operations include intrastate pipeline, natural gas production, and natural gas marketing. The Company's Montana public utility was originally incorporated in 1909. Its strategy for growth is to expand throughput in its markets, while looking for acquisitions that are either adjacent to its existing utilities or in under-served markets. Further information is available on the Company’s website at www.egas.net.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The Company is including the following cautionary statement in this release to make applicable and to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Gas Natural Inc. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those that are identified by use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes" and similar expressions. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. Factors that may affect forward-looking statements and the Company's business generally include, but are not limited to the Company's ability to successfully integrate the operations of the companies it has acquired and consummate additional acquisitions; the Company's continued ability to make or increase dividend payments; the Company's ability to implement its business plan, grow earnings and improve returns on investment; fluctuating energy commodity prices; the possibility that regulators may not permit the Company to pass through all of its increased costs to its customers; changes in the utility regulatory environment; wholesale and retail competition; the Company's ability to satisfy its debt obligations, including compliance with financial covenants; weather conditions; litigation risks; and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control; the risk factors and cautionary statements made in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and other factors that the Company is currently unable to identify or quantify, but may exist in the future. Gas Natural Inc. expressly undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Gas Natural Inc.'s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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