MENTOR, Ohio, Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas Natural Inc. (NYSE MKT: EGAS) (the "Company"), a holding company operating natural gas utilities serving approximately 70,000 customers in seven states, announced today that it has filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The shelf registration statement, when declared effective by the SEC, will allow Gas Natural to offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $50 million of common stock. 

Richard M. Osborne, Gas Natural's chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "Having an effective shelf registration provides optimal flexibility and access to additional resources to fund our growth strategy, if necessary, invest in our Natural Gas operations and act opportunistically on any potential acquisitions."     

Specific terms and prices will be determined at the time of any offering and included in a prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC relating to that offering.  The offering of securities covered by the shelf registration statement is intended to provide the Company with capital for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and debt refinancing.  As of today, the Company has no specific plans to offer the securities covered by the registration statement. 

The shelf registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective.  These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.  This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.  When available, copies of the prospectus, and any prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, may be obtained by contacting Gas Natural Inc., attention: Thomas J. Smith, 8500 Station Street, Suite 100, Mentor, Ohio 44060, (440) 974-3770.

About Gas Natural Inc.
Gas Natural Inc., a holding company, distributes and sells natural gas to end-use residential, commercial, and industrial customers.  It distributes approximately 32 billion cubic feet of natural gas to approximately 70,000 customers through regulated utilities operating in Montana, Wyoming, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina and Kentucky.  The Company's other operations include interstate pipeline, natural gas production, propane and natural gas marketing.  The Company's Montana public utility was originally incorporated in 1909.  Its strategy for growth is to expand throughput in the Maine and North Carolina markets while looking for acquisitions that are either adjacent to its existing utilities or in under saturated markets.

The Company's toll-free number is 800-570-5688. Gas Natural Inc. regularly posts information on its 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 the 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 recently acquired and consummate additional acquisitions, the Company's continued ability to make dividend payments, the Company's ability to implement its business plan, 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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SOURCE Gas Natural Inc.