Great Plains Energy Prices Offering of Senior Notes to Finance a Portion of Westar Acquisition

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--()--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.

Contacts

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

Contacts

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