The $15 billion stock-for-stock merger of Midwest electric utilities Westar Energy Inc. and Great Plains Energy Inc. completed June 4 to create new holding company Evergy Inc.
According to the merger agreement between the two companies, Westar Energy shareholders received one validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable common share of the new holding company against one Westar share. One Great Plains Energy share was converted into the right to convert into 0.5981 of an Evergy common share.
After approvals from the regulators of their respective service areas in Kansas and Missouri, the merger closed with Westar shareholders owning approximately 52.5% and Great Plains Energy shareholders owning approximately 47.5% of the combined company. The new company will become a member of the S&P 500 index and trade on the NYSE under the symbol EVRG beginning June 5. The two predecessor companies were members of the S&P MidCap 400 index.
The new company will be headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., with operational headquarters there and in Topeka, Kan.
Following the merger, Mollie Carter, Charles Chandler IV, Richard Hawley, Anthony Isaac, Sandra Lawrence, Mark Ruelle and Carl Soderstrom Jr. from the Westar board of directors were appointed to the new company's board. They were joined by Terry Bassham, Gary Forsee, Scott Grimes, Thomas Hyde, Ann Murtlow, Sandra Price and John Sherman from the Great Plains board of directors.
The top management includes Terry Bassham from Great Plains as president and CEO; Jerl Banning from Westar as senior vice president and chief people officer; Kevin Bryant from Great Plains as executive vice president and COO; Steven Busser from Great Plains as vice president and risk management and controller; Charles Caisley from Great Plains as senior vice president of marketing and public affairs and chief customer officer; Gregory Greenwood from Westar as executive vice president of strategy and chief administrative officer; Heather Humphrey from Great Plains as senior vice president and general counsel and corporate secretary; and Anthony Somma from Westar as executive vice president and CFO.
Both companies filed a revised merger plan after Great Plains had extended an offer to acquire the neighboring Westar in a $12.2 billion buyout that included $3.6 billion of assumed debt, but the Kansas Corporation Commission struck the deal down on the basis that it was not in the best public interest.
