TULSA, Okla., June 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) today announced that it has closed the acquisition of all outstanding common units of ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS) it did not previously own, and the merger of ONEOK Partners with a subsidiary of ONEOK will be effective at the end of today. As a result of the acquisition, ONEOK Partners common units will no longer be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

At separate special meetings held earlier today, ONEOK shareholders and ONEOK Partners unitholders voted in favor of their respective proposals related to the previously announced merger transaction.

Approximately 98 percent of the ONEOK shares voted approved the ONEOK stock issuance proposal in connection with the merger transaction.

Approximately 96 percent of the ONEOK shares voted, representing approximately 86 percent of the outstanding shares, approved the proposal to increase the number of authorized shares of ONEOK common stock to 1.2 billion from 600 million.

Approximately 98 percent of the ONEOK Partners units voted, representing approximately 75 percent of the outstanding units, approved the merger proposal.

"The support for this transaction by both ONEOK shareholders and ONEOK Partners unitholders was evident today," said Terry K. Spencer, president and chief executive officer of ONEOK. "This investor support underscores our decision to create a larger, stand-alone operating company, resulting in solid dividend coverage and a lower cost of funding, enhancing our ability to execute on our long-term growth strategy as one of the country's leading midstream energy companies. We believe this transaction positions our businesses well for continued growth and provides ONEOK shareholders with long-term value through an expected higher dividend growth rate and an even stronger balance sheet."

MERGER TRANSACTION HIGHLIGHTS

Under the terms of the merger agreement, ONEOK has acquired all of the 171.5 million outstanding units of ONEOK Partners it did not already own at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.985 of a share of ONEOK common stock for each public unit of ONEOK Partners.

ONEOK expects:


    --  A dividend increase of 21 percent to 74.5 cents per share, or $2.98 on
        an annualized basis, with dividend growth of 9 to 11 percent annually
        thereafter through 2021;
    --  Annual dividend coverage greater than 1.2 times;
    --  The transaction to be immediately accretive and then double-digit
        accretive to ONEOK's distributable cash flow per share in all years from
        2018 through 2021;
    --  No cash income taxes through at least 2021; and
    --  Shareholders to benefit from a lower cost of funding, improved capital
        markets access and enhanced dividend growth.

ONEOK, Inc. (pronounced ONE-OAK) (NYSE: OKE) is one of the largest energy midstream service providers in the U.S., connecting prolific supply basins with key market centers. It owns and operates one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems and is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas. ONEOK's operations include a 38,000-mile integrated network of NGL and natural gas pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities in the Mid-Continent, Williston, Permian and Rocky Mountain regions.

ONEOK is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index.

For information about ONEOK, Inc., visit the website: www.oneok.com.

For the latest news about ONEOK, find us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter @ONEOKNews.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Words such as "anticipates", "believes," "expects", "intends", "plans", "projects", "will", "would", "should", "may", and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect our current views about future events. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction involving us, including future financial and operating results, our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts, including future results of operations, projected cash flow and liquidity, business strategy, expected synergies or cost savings, and other plans and objectives for future operations. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements contained in this news release will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from those projected.

Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and are not guarantees of future results. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following:


    --  the risk that cost savings, tax benefits and any other synergies from
        the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize
        than expected;
    --  disruption from the transaction may make it more difficult to maintain
        relationships with customers, employees or suppliers;
    --  the possible diversion of management time on merger-related issues;
    --  the impact and outcome of pending and future litigation, including
        litigation relating to the transaction;
    --  the effects of weather and other natural phenomena, including climate
        change, on our operations, demand for our services and energy prices;
    --  competition from other United States and foreign energy suppliers and
        transporters, as well as alternative forms of energy, including, but not
        limited to, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy and biofuels such
        as ethanol and biodiesel;
    --  the capital intensive nature of our businesses;
    --  the profitability of assets or businesses acquired or constructed by us;
    --  our ability to make cost-saving changes in operations;
    --  risks of marketing, trading and hedging activities, including the risks
        of changes in energy prices or the financial condition of our
        counterparties;
    --  the uncertainty of estimates, including accruals and costs of
        environmental remediation;
    --  the timing and extent of changes in energy commodity prices;
    --  the effects of changes in governmental policies and regulatory actions,
        including changes with respect to income and other taxes, pipeline
        safety, environmental compliance, climate change initiatives and
        authorized rates of recovery of natural gas and natural gas
        transportation costs;
    --  the impact on drilling and production by factors beyond our control,
        including the demand for natural gas and crude oil; producers' desire
        and ability to obtain necessary permits; reserve performance; and
        capacity constraints on the pipelines that transport crude oil, natural
        gas and NGLs from producing areas and our facilities;
    --  difficulties or delays experienced by trucks, railroads or pipelines in
        delivering products to or from our terminals or pipelines;
    --  changes in demand for the use of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil because
        of market conditions caused by concerns about climate change;
    --  the impact of unforeseen changes in interest rates, debt and equity
        markets, inflation rates, economic recession and other external factors
        over which we have no control, including the effect on pension and
        postretirement expense and funding resulting from changes in equity and
        bond market returns;
    --  our indebtedness could make us vulnerable to general adverse economic
        and industry conditions, limit our ability to borrow additional funds
        and/or place us at competitive disadvantages compared with our
        competitors that have less debt, or have other adverse consequences;
    --  actions by rating agencies concerning our credit ratings;
    --  the results of administrative proceedings and litigation, regulatory
        actions, rule changes and receipt of expected clearances involving any
        local, state or federal regulatory body, including the Federal Energy
        Regulatory Commission (FERC), the National Transportation Safety Board,
        the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the
        U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Commodity
        Futures Trading Commission (CFTC);
    --  our ability to access capital at competitive rates or on terms
        acceptable to us;
    --  risks associated with adequate supply to our gathering, processing,
        fractionation and pipeline facilities, including production declines
        that outpace new drilling or extended periods of ethane rejection;
    --  the risk that material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our
        internal controls over financial reporting could emerge or that minor
        problems could become significant;
    --  the ability to market pipeline capacity on favorable terms, including
        the effects of:
        --  future demand for and prices of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil;
        --  competitive conditions in the overall energy market;
        --  availability of supplies of Canadian and United States natural gas
            and crude oil; and
        --  availability of additional storage capacity;
    --  performance of contractual obligations by our customers, service
        providers, contractors and shippers;
    --  the timely receipt of approval by applicable governmental entities for
        construction and operation of our pipeline and other projects and
        required regulatory clearances;
    --  our ability to acquire all necessary permits, consents or other
        approvals in a timely manner, to promptly obtain all necessary materials
        and supplies required for construction, and to construct gathering,
        processing, storage, fractionation and transportation facilities without
        labor or contractor problems;
    --  the mechanical integrity of facilities operated;
    --  demand for our services in the proximity of our facilities;
    --  our ability to control operating costs;
    --  acts of nature, sabotage, terrorism or other similar acts that cause
        damage to our facilities or our suppliers' or shippers' facilities;
    --  economic climate and growth in the geographic areas in which we do
        business;
    --  the risk of a prolonged slowdown in growth or decline in the United
        States or international economies, including liquidity risks in United
        States or foreign credit markets;
    --  the impact of recently issued and future accounting updates and other
        changes in accounting policies;
    --  the possibility of future terrorist attacks or the possibility or
        occurrence of an outbreak of, or changes in, hostilities or changes in
        the political conditions in the Middle East and elsewhere;
    --  the risk of increased costs for insurance premiums, security or other
        items as a consequence of terrorist attacks;
    --  risks associated with pending or possible acquisitions and dispositions,
        including our ability to finance or integrate any such acquisitions and
        any regulatory delay or conditions imposed by regulatory bodies in
        connection with any such acquisitions and dispositions;
    --  the impact of uncontracted capacity in our assets being greater or less
        than expected;
    --  the ability to recover operating costs and amounts equivalent to income
        taxes, costs of property, plant and equipment and regulatory assets in
        our state and FERC-regulated rates;
    --  the composition and quality of the natural gas and NGLs supplied to our
        gathering systems, processed in our plants and transported on our
        pipelines;
    --  the efficiency of our plants in processing natural gas and extracting
        and fractionating NGLs;
    --  the impact of potential impairment charges;
    --  the risk inherent in the use of information systems in our respective
        businesses, implementation of new software and hardware, and the impact
        on the timeliness of information for financial reporting;
    --  our ability to control construction costs and completion schedules of
        our pipelines and other projects; and
    --  the risk factors listed in the reports ONEOK and ONEOK Partners have
        filed and may file with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference.

These reports are also available from the sources described below. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made. Neither ONEOK nor ONEOK Partners undertakes any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the Risk Factors included in the most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners on file with the SEC. ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.



    Analyst Contact:             Megan Patterson

                                 918-561-5325

    Media Contact:               Brad Borror

                                 918-588-7582

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SOURCE ONEOK, Inc.