LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2018 / If you want access to our free research report on NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) ("NextEra"), all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=NEE as the Company's latest news hit the wire. On May 21, 2018, the Company announced that it has signed an agreement with Southern Company (NYSE: SO) to acquire several of its assets. The acquisitions include Gulf Power Co., Florida City Gas, as well as Southern Company's stake in natural-gas plants - Plant Oleander and Plant Stanton. NextEra is expected to pay a total cash consideration of approximately $6.475 billion, including debts of Gulf Power valued at approximately $1.4 billion. Register today and get access to over 1,000 Free Research Reports by joining our site below:

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Commenting on the acquisitions, Jim Robo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NextEra, said:

"These transactions will provide meaningful benefits for the state of Florida, and Gulf Power and Florida City Gas customers, as well as NextEra Energy shareholders. Importantly, these transactions are consistent with our long-standing, disciplined approach of maintaining the strength of our balance sheet and credit ratings, both of which are among the strongest in the industry."

Thomas A. Fanning, Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company, stated:

"This sale provides Southern Company the opportunity to deliver great value to our organization, bolster our financial profile, and continue to build the future of energy as one of America's premier energy Companies."

Details of the Acquisition

The assets acquired by NextEra from Southern Company include:

  • Gulf Power, which is an electric utility that serves eight counties across northwest Florida. It has approximately 450,000 customers and around 9,500 miles of power lines. The utility has the electric power generation capacity of 2,300 megawatts (MW).
  • Florida City Gas, which is a leading natural gas provider serving residential and commercial customers across Florida's Miami-Dade, Brevard, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties. The Company has approximately 110,000 customers and natural gas pipelines of around 3,700 miles.
  • Plant Oleander, which is a natural-gas-fueled, simple-cycle combustion turbine electric generation plant located near Cocoa, Florida, where Southern Company owns 100% interest. The natural-gas plant has a generating capacity of 791 MW. It has long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Florida Municipal Power Agency and Seminole Electric Cooperative.
  • Stanton Energy Center, which is a combined-cycle electric generating unit near Orlando, Florida, where Southern Company has a 65% ownership. The plant has a generating capacity of approximately 660 MW. Southern Company has contracted to sell its portion of generated power to the Orlando Utilities Commission and Florida Municipal Power Agency.

NextEra needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to complete the acquisition of Gulf Power and acquire Southern Company's interest in Plant Oleander and Plant Stanton. The acquisition of Florida City Gas is subject to Southern Company's ability to complete the previously announced divestment of Elizabethtown Gas and Elkton Gas divisions of Southern Company Gas. The acquisitions are also subject to expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Southern Company had announced the divestment of both these divisions in October 2017 to South Jersey Industries in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.7 billion. Taking into consideration the above, NextEra expects that the acquisition of Florida City Gas will close in Q3 2018, while the acquisition of Gulf Power and the two natural-gas plants will close in H1 2019 subject to getting regulatory approvals and fulfillment of other closing conditions.

Southern Company's decision to divest the above assets is aimed at reducing debts, increasing financial flexibility, unlocking value for shareholders, and raising significant additional capital for strategic acquisitions.

Benefits of the Deal

NextEra expects the acquisition to be accretive to its earnings immediately on the close of the deal. The Company expects that the deal would be accretive to its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by $0.15 in FY20 and by $0.20 in FY21. Based on this, the Company expects that its adjusted EPS guidance will be in the range of $8.70 to $9.20 for FY20 and in the band of $9.40 to $9.95 for FY21, once the deal is completed.

NextEra plans to issue fresh debt of approximately $5.1 billion for financing the acquisition. The Company expects to maintain strong investment grade credit even after the completion of the acquisitions. The Company also expects to continue maintaining financial liquidity in the range of $5 billion to $7 billion.

The acquisitions are expected to expand NextEra's Florida-based energy assets while simultaneously generating long-term shareholder value with a strong financial profile, greater scale, and an expanded platform for growth.

NextEra plans to replicate its track record, operations strategy, and success story of Florida Power & Light Company and with the new acquisitions Gulf Power and Florida City Gas. The Company plans to make smart infrastructure investments at Gulf Power and Florida City Gas, which would further the Company's agenda of providing affordable, reliable, and clean energy to over 600,000 combined customers of these utilities. The Company plans to continue its tradition of providing low bills, clean energy, high reliability, and outstanding customer service to these new customers.

About Southern Company

Atlanta, Georgia-based Southern Company is a premier energy organization in the US that provides clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy. It has a generating capacity of 46,000 megawatts, 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption, and throughput volume that caters to the energy needs of over 9 million customers. Southern Company is building the future of energy by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, advanced carbon capture technologies, natural gas, renewables, energy efficiency, and storage technology.

About NextEra Energy Inc.

Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra is a leading clean energy firm and one of the largest utility Company in the world. It has a net generating capacity of 46,790 megawatts. The Company's principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. The Company, through its subsidiaries, generates clean, emissions-free electricity from eight commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Stock Performance Snapshot

May 22, 2018 - At Tuesday's closing bell, NextEra Energy's stock marginally declined 0.49%, ending the trading session at $159.43.

Volume traded for the day: 1.63 million shares.

Stock performance in the last three-month ? up 5.05%; previous six-month period ? up 2.17%; past twelve-month period ? up 15.24%; and year-to-date - up 2.07%

After yesterday's close, NextEra Energy's market cap was at $75.15 billion.

Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio was at 12.84.

The stock has a dividend yield of 2.78%.

The stock is part of the Utilities sector, categorized under the Electric Utilities industry. This sector was up 0.4% at the end of the session.

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