KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 6, 2017--
Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP) (“Great Plains Energy” or
the “Company”) announced today the pricing of its previously announced
underwritten public offering of $4.3 billion of its senior notes. The
Company priced $750 million of senior notes due 2020 at 2.50%, $1.15
billion of senior notes due 2022 at 3.15%, $1.4 billion of senior notes
due 2027 at 3.90% and $1.0 billion of senior notes due 2047 at 4.85%.
Great Plains Energy intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to
finance a portion of the cash consideration payable in connection with
its previously announced proposed acquisition of Westar Energy, Inc.
(“Westar”).
The net proceeds from the offering will be approximately $4.259 billion
after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering
expenses. The offering is expected to close on March 9, 2017, subject to
customary closing conditions.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as lead book-running manager and
Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Wells Fargo
Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering of
the senior notes.
This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any senior notes or any other
securities, nor will there be any sale of senior notes or any other
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.
The offering of the senior notes will be made under Great Plains
Energy’s effective shelf registration statement, as amended, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The offering will be
made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying
prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying
prospectus related to the offering will be available on the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov
and may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co., c/o Prospectus
Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by calling (866)
471-2526 or by email at prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com.
About Great Plains Energy:
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Great Plains Energy Incorporated
(NYSE: GXP) is the holding company of Kansas City Power & Light Company
and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company, two of the leading
regulated providers of electricity in the Midwest. Kansas City Power &
Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company use KCP&L as
a brand name.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements made in this release that are not based on historical facts
are forward looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are
intended to be as of the date when made. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by use of the words “may,” “should,”
“expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or
“continue.” Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements relating to the anticipated acquisition of Westar, the
outcome of regulatory proceedings, cost estimates of capital projects
and other matters affecting future operations. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions, expectations and assessments made
by the Company’s management in light of their experience and their
perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future
developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Any
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company’s future
performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those
discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC. These risks and
uncertainties could cause actual results, developments and business
decisions to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by
forward-looking statements. Consequently, you should recognize these
statements for what they are and we caution you not to rely upon them as
facts. The Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for
forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for all forward-looking statements. Some
of the factors that could cause actual results, developments and
business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these
forward-looking statements include the following: future economic
conditions in regional, national and international markets and their
effects on sales, prices and costs; prices and availability of
electricity in regional and national wholesale markets; market
perception of the energy industry, the Company and Kansas City Power &
Light Company; changes in business strategy, operations or development
plans; the outcome of contract negotiations for goods and services;
effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and
regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to,
deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility
industry; decisions of regulators regarding rates the Company and its
subsidiaries can charge for electricity; adverse changes in applicable
laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax,
accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air
and water quality; financial market conditions and performance
including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and credit
spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on
derivatives and hedges, nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan
assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit
ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and
procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their
contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts, including, but not
limited to, cyber terrorism; ability to carry out marketing and sales
plans; weather conditions including, but not limited to, weather-related
damage and their effects on sales, prices and costs; cost, availability,
quality and deliverability of fuel; the inherent uncertainties in
estimating the effects of weather, economic conditions and other factors
on customer consumption and financial results; ability to achieve
generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and
unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates
and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other
projects; Great Plains Energy’s ability to successfully manage its
transmission joint ventures or to integrate or restructure the
transmission joint ventures of Westar; the inherent risks associated
with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility including, but
not limited to, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial
risks; workforce risks, including, but not limited to, increased costs
of retirement, health care and other benefits; the ability of Great
Plains Energy to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to complete
the anticipated acquisition of Westar and the terms of those approvals;
the risk that a condition to the closing of the anticipated acquisition
of Westar or the committed debt or equity financing may not be satisfied
or that the anticipated acquisition may fail to close; the failure to
obtain, or to obtain on favorable terms, any financings necessary to
complete or permanently finance the anticipated acquisition of Westar,
including this offering, and the costs of such financing; the outcome of
any legal proceedings, regulatory proceedings or enforcement matters
that may be instituted relating to the anticipated acquisition of
Westar; the costs incurred to consummate the anticipated acquisition of
Westar; the possibility that the expected value creation from the
anticipated acquisition of Westar will not be realized, or will not be
realized within the expected time period; the credit ratings of Great
Plains Energy following the anticipated acquisition of Westar;
disruption from the anticipated acquisition of Westar making it more
difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees,
regulators or suppliers and the diversion of management time and
attention on the proposed transactions; and other risks and
uncertainties.
This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to
predict all factors. Additional risks and uncertainties will be
discussed in the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus
that Great Plains Energy will file with the SEC in connection with the
proposed offering. Other risk factors are detailed in Great Plains
Energy’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular
statement. Great Plains Energy undertakes no obligation and disclaims
any duty to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170306006466/en/
Source: Great Plains Energy Incorporated
Great Plains Energy Contacts:
Investors:
Calvin
Girard, 816-654-1777
Senior Manager of Investor Relations
calvin.girard@kcpl.com
or
Media:
Katie
McDonald, 816-556-2365
Senior Director of Corporate Communications
katie.mcdonald@kcpl.com
