the merger is the singular ..hence need singular verb is not are..so B,C,D are out
between A and E..look at the word "their" (after underline portion. which is a plural pronoun
Look at the option E which clearly talker about two companies (Gas company and electric company) whereas in option A it talked about only one company that is leader in both "gas and electric "

Hence E.

Thanks Sanjoy,

whereas in option A it talked about only one company that is leader in both "gas and electric "

If A were :
and electric companies is intended to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question with states opening
would that be correct ?

ani781 wrote: If A were :
and electric companies is intended to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question with states opening
would that be correct ?

The intended meaning of the sentence is to present a contrast. The word "unlike" triggers this comparison. The second issue is with the word "merger". A merger requires two companies X and Y (or sometimes even more than 2). A single company cant merge with itself. So the initial part of the underlined sentence should be "merger of the nation's leading gas company and another company". Only D and E correct this awkwardness. Finally, in D merger (singular) requires is (singular). The final choice E states the intended meaning of the sentence.

Consider your modified version of A :
Unlike most other mergers in the utility industry, the merger of the nation's leading gas and electric companies is intended to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question with states opening their utility markets to competition.
Note that this would modify the meaning yet again. The author wants to deliberately mention a single merger which is different from the mergers in the past. This merger is between "a gas company" & "a electric company". If we say "the merger of the nation's leading (g&e) companies" the meaning changes. This would mean a merger between "a (g&e) company" & "another (g&e) company", where (g&e) denotes a company which produces both gas & electric! Or this could even mean that there are several companies which are merged together, and we cannot determine the number if we say "companies". Thus it would become ambiguous.

Regards,
Vivek

Edit: Added Possible explanation for Modified A

ani781 wrote:Unlike most other mergers in the utility industry, which have been driven by the need to save money and extend companies' service areas, the merger of the nation's leading gas and electric company is intended to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question with states opening their utility markets to competition.


(A) and electric company is intended to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question with states opening

(B) and electric companies are intended to create a huge network for marketing the utilities in question as states open

(C) and electric companies are intended to create a huge network that will be marketing the utilities in question, with states opening

(D) company and electric company are intending to create a huge marketing network for the utilities in question, with states opening

(E) company and leading electric company is intended to create a huge network for marketing the utilities in question as states open

What is wrong with A
OA E

OA has to be E. This question had come up for discussion once on this forum.Parallelism has to be maintained before and after and. It has to a gas company and a electric company. Though erroneously sometimes the option can be considered correct.

So D and E are in contention.

Anyway I feel only 1 option is correct, Look at the phrase after the comma in line 2nd "the merger" is singular so singular modifier has to be used.It is a merger between a gas company and a electric company. Option A does not tell this to us.

Hope I am of help