Great Plains Energy, the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) is on the verge of completing its merger with rival Kansas electric utility Westar Energy following receipt of final regulatory approvals.
The latest approvals of the all-stock merger aimed at creating a $15bn combined entity came from the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) and Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC).
According to the parties, the merger will be completed in early June with the combined company to be named as Evergy.
It was in May 2016 that Great Plains Energy had agreed to acquire Westar for $12.2bn, which included about $3.6bn of the latter’s debt. As per the terms of this original deal, shareholders of Westar would have got $60.00 per share, made up of of $51.00 in cash and $9.00 in Great Plains Energy common stock.
The merger, which will take more than two years to be completed, was initially not approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission in April 2017. However, in July 2017, Great Plains Energy and Westar Energy came up with an amended agreement which removed the involvement of cash and made it into an all-stock merger of equals deal to remove regulatory hurdles.
Great Plains Energy chairman and CEO Terry Bassham said: “As neighbors, KCP&L and Westar have served customers in Kansas and Missouri for more than 100 years.
“This merger allows us to be even more efficient as we continue providing excellent customer service while maintaining competitive prices.”
Bassham is all set to be president and CEO of Evergy after the completion of the merger.
Evergy will serve nearly 1.6 million customers, with almost a million in Kansas and 600,000 in Missouri. Apart from that, the enlarged company will own, operate and maintain around 16,000 miles of transmission lines, over 82,000km of distribution lines and 13,000MW of power generation.
The new company will have a workforce of around 5,000 employees across Kansas and Missouri and will be headquartered in Kansas City in Missouri.