Great Plains Energy, the parent of regulated power utility Kansas City Power & Light has turned to Bracewell for assistance with its pending acquisition of Westar Energy, the largest electric company in Kansas. The deal involves a combined cash and stock transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $12.2 billion, including total equity value of approximately $8.6 billion. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Westar will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy. The deal is anticipated to close in the spring of 2017.
After the transaction is complete, Great Plains Energy will have more than 1.5 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, nearly 13,000 megawatts of generation capacity, almost 10,000 miles of transmission lines and over 51,000 miles of distribution lines, according to a recent announcement from the company. In addition, more than 45 percent of the combined utility’s retail customer demand will be met with emission-free energy. With the addition of Westar’s generation fleet, Great Plains Energy will have a more diverse and sustainable generation portfolio. Among investor-owned utilities in the U.S., the combined company will have one of the largest portfolios of wind generation in the country.
