FirstEnergy Announces Expiration of Its Cash Tender Offer for 6.45% Notes, Series B, Due 2011
September 01 2009 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp.
(NYSE: FE) today announced the expiration of its previously
announced cash tender offer for $1,200,000,000 aggregate principal
amount of its 6.45% Notes, Series B, due 2011, as specified in the
Offer to Purchase dated August 4, 2009, and amended by the press
release issued by FirstEnergy on August 18, 2009. The tender offer
expired at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on August 31, 2009.
According to information provided by the Tender Agent, as of the
expiration time, the aggregate principal amount of the notes
validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the tender
offer was $1,256,369,000. Because the aggregate principal amount of
the notes validly tendered and not withdrawn as of the expiration
time is in excess of the tender cap, FirstEnergy will purchase all
notes accepted in the tender offer on a pro rata basis among the
tendering holders, as described in the Offer to Purchase. The
settlement date is expected to be September 1, 2009. Holders of
notes that validly tendered and did not validly withdraw their
notes by the early tender deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on August 17, 2009, and whose notes are accepted for purchase
are entitled to receive the previously announced total
consideration of $1,092.50 per $1,000 principal amount of notes.
Holders of notes that validly tendered and did not validly withdraw
their notes after the early tender deadline and prior to the
expiration time and whose notes are accepted for purchase are
entitled to receive the previously announced tender offer
consideration of $1,062.50 per $1,000 principal amount of notes. A
total of $250,000,000 in aggregate principal of the notes remains
outstanding. Pursuant to the terms of the tender offer, notes not
tendered in this tender offer remain outstanding, and the terms and
conditions governing the notes, including the covenants and other
provisions contained in the indenture governing the notes, will
remain unchanged. From time to time, FirstEnergy or its
subsidiaries may acquire notes that were not tendered or purchased
in the tender offer through open market purchases, privately
negotiated transactions, tender offers, exchange offers or
otherwise, upon such terms and at such prices as FirstEnergy or its
subsidiaries may determine, which may be more or less than the
price to be paid pursuant to the tender offer and could be for cash
or other consideration. Alternatively, FirstEnergy may, subject to
certain conditions, repurchase any or all of the notes not
purchased pursuant to the tender offer at any time we are permitted
to do so under the respective indentures governing the notes. In
connection with the tender offer, FirstEnergy has retained Morgan
Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
and RBS Securities Inc. to serve as Dealer Managers for the tender
offer. D. F. King & Co., Inc. has been retained to serve as the
Information Agent and the Tender Agent for the tender offer. For
additional information regarding the terms of the tender offer,
please contact: Morgan Stanley at 800-624-1808 (toll free) or
212-761-5384 (collect); Credit Suisse at 800-820-1653 (toll free)
or 212-538-1862 (collect); or RBS at 877-297-9832 (toll free) or
203-897-6145 (collect). Requests for documents and questions
regarding the tender of notes may be directed to the Information
Agent at 800-735-3591 (toll free) or 212-269-5550 (collect).
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in Akron,
Ohio. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the
generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, as well
as energy management and other energy-related services. Its seven
electric utility operating companies comprise the nation's fifth
largest investor-owned electric system, based on 4.5 million
customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries
control more than 14,000 megawatts of capacity. FirstEnergy's
obligations to accept any notes tendered and to pay the applicable
consideration for them are set forth solely in the Offer to
Purchase and related Letter of Transmittal. This news release is
not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of acceptance of the
tender offer. FirstEnergy may, subject to applicable law, amend,
extend or terminate the tender offer. Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release includes forward-looking statements based on
information currently available to management. Such statements are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements
include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and
current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are
not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect,"
"believe," "estimate" and similar words. Forward-looking statements
involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ
materially due to the speed and nature of increased competition in
the electric utility industry and legislative and regulatory
changes affecting how generation rates will be determined following
the expiration of existing rate plans in Pennsylvania, the impact
of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's regulatory process on
The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison Company,
or The Toledo Edison Company to the extent each is associated with
the distribution rate case, economic or weather conditions
affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for energy
services, changing energy and commodity market prices and
availability, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated
or inadequately hedged, the continued ability of FirstEnergy's
regulated utilities to collect transition and other charges or to
recover increased transmission costs, maintenance costs being
higher than anticipated, other legislative and regulatory changes,
revised environmental requirements, including possible greenhouse
gas emission regulations, the potential impacts of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia July 11, 2008 decision
requiring revisions to the Clean Air Interstate Rules and the scope
of any laws, rules or regulations that may ultimately take their
place, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital
expenditures needed to, among other things, implement the Air
Quality Compliance Plan (including that such amounts could be
higher than anticipated or that certain generating units may need
to be shut down) or levels of emission reductions related to the
Consent Decree resolving the New Source Review litigation or other
similar potential regulatory initiatives or actions, adverse
regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including, but not
limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating
permits and oversight) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Metropolitan Edison Company's and Pennsylvania Electric Company's
transmission service charge filings with the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission, the continuing availability of generating units
and their ability to operate at or near full capacity, the ability
to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards,
the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from
strategic goals (including employee workforce initiatives), the
ability to improve electric commodity margins and to experience
growth in the distribution business, the changing market conditions
that could affect the value of assets held in FirstEnergy's nuclear
decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds, and
cause it to make additional contributions sooner, or in an amount
that is larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access
the public securities and other capital and credit markets in
accordance with FirstEnergy's financing plan and the cost of such
capital, changes in general economic conditions affecting
FirstEnergy, the state of the capital and credit markets affecting
FirstEnergy, interest rates and any actions taken by credit rating
agencies that could negatively affect FirstEnergy's access to
financing or its costs or increase its requirements to post
additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions,
letters of credit and other financial guarantees, the continuing
decline of the national and regional economy and its impact on
FirstEnergy's major industrial and commercial customers, issues
concerning the soundness of financial institutions and
counterparties with which FirstEnergy does business, and the risks
and other factors discussed from time to time in FirstEnergy's
Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and other similar
factors. The foregoing review of factors should not be construed as
exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not
possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the
impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy's business or the extent
to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results
to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell
or hold securities that may be subject to revision or withdrawal at
any time by the assigning rating organization. Each rating should
be evaluated independently of any other rating. FirstEnergy
expressly disclaims any current intention to update any
forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise. DATASOURCE: FirstEnergy
Corp. CONTACT: Media, Tricia Ingraham, +1-330-384-5247, Investors,
Ron Seeholzer, +1-330-384-5415, both of FirstEnergy Corp. Web Site:
http://www.firstenergycorp.com/
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