FirstEnergy Upsizes Previously Announced Cash Tender Offer, Announces Early Tender Participation Results and Election of Early Settlement

Rhea-AI Summary

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced on June 14, 2022, the results of its cash tender offer, increasing the maximum tender amount from $800 million to $1.1 billion. This decision aligns with the company’s strategy to reduce debt at the holding company level. The early settlement date for validly tendered notes is set for June 15, 2022. The tender offer will expire on June 28, 2022, unless extended. The company aims to enhance its financial standing by retiring specific outstanding debt obligations.

Positive

• Increased maximum tender amount from $800 million to $1.1 billion.
• Strategy to reduce debt at the holding company level.
• Early settlement date set for June 15, 2022.

Negative

• None.

AKRON, Ohio, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced today the early participation results of its previously announced cash tender offer (Tender Offer), and its decision to upsize the Maximum Tender Amount (as defined below) to $1.1 billion. FirstEnergy is utilizing the Tender Offer to purchase certain outstanding debt and reduce its leverage, consistent with its plans to reduce debt at the holding company level. Notes that are accepted in the Tender Offer will be purchased, retired and cancelled and will no longer remain outstanding obligations of FirstEnergy.

Previously, FirstEnergy announced an offer to purchase for cash up to an amended Maximum Tender Amount of its 7.375% Notes, Series C, due 2031 (2031 Notes) and 4.85% Notes, Series C, due 2047 (which, pursuant to their terms, accrue interest at a rate of 5.35% per annum as of the date of this news release) (2047 Notes and, together with the 2031 Notes, the Notes and, each, a Series of Notes). FirstEnergy has amended the terms of the Tender Offer to increase the maximum combined aggregate purchase price, including principal and premium but excluding accrued and unpaid interest, of Notes subject to the Tender Offer (Maximum Tender Amount) from $800 million to $1.1 billion. Participation results from the Tender Offer, shown below, are as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 13, 2022 (Early Tender Time).

FirstEnergy also announced that, with respect to the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Time, FirstEnergy has elected to have an early settlement date with payment for such Notes to occur on June 15, 2022.

The Tender Offer is being made on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase dated May 25, 2022, as amended by FirstEnergy's news release dated June 9, 2022 (as so amended, the Offer to Purchase). Capitalized terms used in this release but not otherwise defined have the meanings given to them in the Offer to Purchase.

Subject to applicable law, FirstEnergy has reserved the absolute right, in its sole discretion, to at any time (i) waive any and all conditions to the Tender Offer, (ii) extend, terminate or withdraw the Tender Offer, (iii) increase or waive the Maximum Tender Amount, with or without extending the Withdrawal Date, or (iv) otherwise amend the Tender Offer in any respect.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the Notes and the Tender Offer, including the aggregate principal amount of Notes that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn as of the Early Tender Time according to D.F. King & Co., Inc., the Tender Agent and Information Agent for the Tender Offer:

CUSIP No. / ISIN	Title of Security	Acceptance Priority Level	Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding	Aggregate Principal Amount Tendered
337932 AC1 / US337932AC13	7.375% Notes, Series C, due 2031	1	$1,500,000,000	$715,225,000
337932 AJ6 / US337932AJ65	4.85% Notes, Series C, due 2047(1)	2	$1,000,000,000	$430,146,000

________________________

(1) Pursuant to their terms, the 2047 Notes accrue interest at a rate of 5.35% per annum as of the date of this news release.

FirstEnergy will calculate the consideration to be paid to holders of the Notes (Holders) who validly tendered and did not validly withdraw their Notes at or prior to the Early Tender Time in the manner described in the Offer to Purchase, as of 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on June 14, 2022. FirstEnergy intends to accept for purchase the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Time, subject to the Maximum Tender Amount. Because the maximum combined aggregate purchase price, including principal and premium but excluding accrued and unpaid interest, of the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Time is expected to exceed the Maximum Tender Amount, FirstEnergy expects to accept for purchase Notes validly tendered in accordance with the Acceptance Priority Levels set forth in the table above.  If there are sufficient remaining funds to purchase some, but not all, of the remaining Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Time at either Acceptance Priority Level without exceeding the Maximum Tender Amount, FirstEnergy will accept for purchase such Notes on a prorated basis.

The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on June 28, 2022 (Expiration Time), unless extended or earlier terminated as described in the Offer to Purchase. Notes not accepted for purchase will be promptly returned or credited to the applicable Holder's account.

FirstEnergy has engaged Barclays Capital Inc. (Barclays) and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (Morgan Stanley) to act as lead dealer managers (together, the Lead Dealer Managers) and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., TD Securities (USA) LLC and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. to act as co-dealer managers (collectively, the Co-Dealer Managers and, together with the Lead Dealer Managers, the Dealer Managers) in connection with the Tender Offer and has appointed D.F. King & Co., Inc. to serve as the Tender Agent and Information Agent for the Tender Offer. Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available by contacting D.F. King & Co., Inc. via telephone at (212) 269-5550 (toll free) or (800) 859-8509 (for banks and brokers) or email: fe@dfking.com. Questions regarding the terms of the Tender Offer should be directed to Barclays at (800) 438-3242 (toll-free) or (212) 528-7581 (collect) or Morgan Stanley at (800) 624-1808 (toll-free) or (212) 761-1057 (collect).

None of FirstEnergy, its board of directors, the Dealer Managers, D.F. King & Co., Inc., the trustee for the Notes, or any of their respective affiliates, is making any recommendation as to whether Holders should tender any Notes in response to the Tender Offer. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Notes and, if so, the principal amounts of Notes to tender.

This news release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to sell, or a solicitation of consents with respect to any securities. This news release does not describe all the material terms of the Tender Offer, and no decision should be made by any Holder on the basis of this news release. The terms and conditions of the Tender Offer are described in the Offer to Purchase, and this news release must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. The Offer to Purchase contains important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Tender Offer. The Tender Offer is not being made in any jurisdiction in which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation under applicable securities or blue sky laws. If any Holder is in any doubt as to the contents of this news release, or the Offer to Purchase, or the action it should take, the Holder should seek its own financial and legal advice, including in respect of any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant, or other independent financial, tax, or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee must contact such entity if it wishes to tender such Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer.

ABOUT FIRSTENERGY CORP.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. FirstEnergy's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

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 and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. 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," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," "believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" 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, which may include the following: the completion of the Tender Offer; the potential liabilities, increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from government investigations and agreements, including those associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into on July 21, 2021 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations and audits regarding Ohio House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio's 133rd General Assembly (HB 6) and related matters, including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters, including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation, and similar proceedings, particularly regarding HB 6 related matters, including risks associated with obtaining court approval of the definitive settlement agreement in the derivative shareholder lawsuits; weather conditions, such as temperature variations and severe weather conditions, or other natural disasters affecting future operating results and associated regulatory actions or outcomes in response to such conditions; legislative and regulatory developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity, cybersecurity, and climate change; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from our FE Forward initiative and our other strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing government investigations, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, greenhouse gas reduction goals, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, growing earnings, and strengthening our balance sheet; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors', information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting FirstEnergy, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, supply chain disruptions, additional costs, workforce impacts and governmental and regulatory responses to the pandemic, such as moratoriums on utility disconnections and workforce vaccination mandates; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, the impact of climate change, or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including recession and inflationary pressure, affecting FirstEnergy and/or its customers and those vendors with which FirstEnergy does business; the potential of non-compliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts, or causing FirstEnergy to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in FirstEnergy's filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also 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. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

FAQ

What is FirstEnergy's new maximum tender amount for its cash tender offer?

FirstEnergy has increased its maximum tender amount to $1.1 billion.

When is the early settlement date for validly tendered notes by FirstEnergy?

The early settlement date is June 15, 2022.

What was the original maximum tender amount before FirstEnergy's announcement?

The original maximum tender amount was $800 million.

What is the expiration date for FirstEnergy's tender offer?

The tender offer expires on June 28, 2022.

How does FirstEnergy plan to use the funds from the tender offer?

FirstEnergy plans to use the funds to purchase and retire certain outstanding debt.