CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) ("Duke") announced today the pricing of a public offering of approximately 9.25 million shares of its common stock at $72.00 per share in connection with the forward sale agreement described below. Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering.
The expected net proceeds from the offering are to be used to finance a portion of the costs of Duke's pending acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. ("Piedmont"). The underwriters of the offering have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.3875 million shares of Duke's common stock upon the same terms. The offering is expected to close on March 7, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.
In connection with the offering, Duke entered into a forward sale agreement with an affiliate of Barclays Capital Inc. (the "forward counterparty") under which Duke agreed to issue and sell to the forward counterparty (subject to Duke's right to cash settle or net share settle the forward sale agreement) 9.25 million shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less discounts and commissions, and subject to certain adjustments. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Duke's common stock, Duke expects to enter into an additional forward sale agreement with the forward counterparty, with respect to the additional shares.
Settlement of the forward sale agreement(s) will occur upon closing of the Piedmont acquisition which is expected by the end of 2016, but settlement may occur as late as June 30, 2017. Duke may, subject to certain conditions, elect cash settlement or net share settlement for all or a portion of its rights or obligations under the forward sale agreement(s).
The offering is being made pursuant to Duke's effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The preliminary prospectus supplement related to the offering will be available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the base prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from: Barclays Capital Inc. by calling 1-888-603-5847, or by mail at Barclays Capital Inc. c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Ave., Edgewood, NY 11717, or by email at [email protected]; BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department, email [email protected]; Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: (800) 831-9146; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204; Wells Fargo Securities, LLC Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 375 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10152, or by calling (800) 326-5897 or e-mail [email protected].
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or country in which the offer, solicitation or sale of these securities would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state or country. The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus and a related prospectus supplement meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933.
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Its Regulated Utilities business unit serves 7.4 million retail electric customers in six states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States, representing a population of approximately 24 million people.
Forward-Looking Information
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and can often be identified by terms and phrases that include "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will," "potential," "forecast," "target," "guidance," "outlook" or other similar terminology. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different than the suggested outcomes within forward-looking statements; accordingly, there is no assurance that such results will be realized. These factors include, but are not limited to: state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements or climate change, as well as rulings that affect cost and investment recovery or have an impact on rate structures or market prices; the extent and timing of costs and liabilities to comply with federal and state regulations related to coal ash, including amounts for the required closure of certain ash basins, are uncertain and difficult to estimate; the ability to recover eligible costs, including amounts associated with coal ash basin asset retirement obligations and future significant weather events, and earn an adequate return on investment through the regulatory process; the costs of decommissioning Crystal River Unit 3 and other nuclear facilities could prove to be more extensive than amounts estimated and all costs may not be fully recoverable through the regulatory process; credit ratings of Duke Energy Corporation, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Progress Energy, Inc., Duke Energy Progress, LLC, Duke Energy Florida, LLC, Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. and Duke Energy Indiana, LLC (collectively, the Duke Energy Registrants) may be different from what is expected; costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations and claims; industrial, commercial and residential growth or decline in service territories or customer bases resulting from variations in customer usage patterns, including energy efficiency efforts and use of alternative energy sources, including self-generation and distributed generation technologies; advancements in technology; additional competition in electric markets and continued industry consolidation; political, economic and regulatory uncertainty in Brazil and other countries in which Duke Energy conducts business; the influence of weather and other natural phenomena on operations, including the economic, operational and other effects of severe storms, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes and tornadoes; the ability to successfully operate electric generating facilities and deliver electricity to customers including direct or indirect effects to the company resulting from an incident that affects the U.S. electric grid or generating resources; the impact on facilities and business from a terrorist attack, cybersecurity threats, data security breaches, and other catastrophic events such as fires, explosions, pandemic health events or other similar occurrences; the inherent risks associated with the operation and potential construction of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates and the ability to recover such costs through the regulatory process, where appropriate, and their impact on liquidity positions and the value of underlying assets; the results of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, interest rate fluctuations and general economic conditions; declines in the market prices of equity and fixed income securities and resultant cash funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans, other post-retirement benefit plans, and nuclear decommissioning trust funds; construction and development risks associated with the completion of Duke Energy Registrants' capital investment projects, including risks related to financing, obtaining and complying with terms of permits, meeting construction budgets and schedules, and satisfying operating and environmental performance standards, as well as the ability to recover costs from customers in a timely manner or at all; changes in rules for regional transmission organizations, including changes in rate designs and new and evolving capacity markets, and risks related to obligations created by the default of other participants; the ability to control operation and maintenance costs; the level of creditworthiness of counterparties to transactions; employee workforce factors, including the potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; the ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends or distributions to Duke Energy Corporation holding company (the Parent); the performance of projects undertaken by our nonregulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; the impact of potential goodwill impairments; the ability to reinvest prospective undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries or repatriate such earnings on a tax-efficient basis; the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (Piedmont), including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the proposed acquisition that could reduce anticipated benefits or cause the parties to abandon the acquisition, and under certain specified circumstance pay a termination fee of $250 million, as well as the ability to successfully integrate the businesses and realize anticipated benefits and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect; and the ability to successfully complete future merger, acquisition or divestiture plans.
Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in the Duke Energy Registrants' reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than described. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made; the Duke Energy Registrants expressly disclaim an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Duke Energy Corporation
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