Filed by Great Plains Energy Incorporated
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: Westar Energy, Inc.
Commission File No. 1-3523
From: Bassham Terry
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2016 4:00 PM
To: All Great Plains Energy Employees
Subject: Note from Terry
Good afternoon.
Today we reached an important milestone with our proposed acquisition of Westar. This week both companies announced their special shareholder meeting dates to vote on proposals relating to the transaction. Although separate meetings, both companies will hold them on September 26, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
Also, this week we began mailing the joint proxy statement/prospectus to shareholders, and in this mailing, we reiterated the benefits we expect to see as a result of acquiring and combining with Westar. Together our companies will create a leading Midwest energy utility well positioned to:
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Realize
significant operating and cost efficiencies
as the result of a strong geographic fit and complementary customer mix;
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Deliver long-term shareholder value
through an enhanced operating platform;
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Accelerate earnings per share
growth with more predictability, while keeping customer rates low;
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Deliver
top-quartile total shareholder returns
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Maintain
strong investment grade ratings
with a solid free cash flow profile; and
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Pursue
increased attractive investment opportunities
for the benefit of customers and shareholders.
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By acquiring Westar Energy, Great Plains Energy will be better positioned to deliver superior shareholder, customer and employee value than it would on a standalone basis.
We will have an extensive outreach to shareholders over the next month encouraging them to vote. The investor relations team will be on the road meeting with our large institutional shareholders and we have engaged a company that specializes in helping communicate with retail shareholders to help us reach our smaller shareholders.
As an employee, if you are also a shareholder of Great Plains Energy, I encourage you to read the proxy materials and vote
FOR
the proposals relating to the acquisition. You will receive the proxy in the mail and can vote
FOR
the acquisition by following the instructions in these materials. If you are not a shareholder, but would like to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus it can be found on the Great Plains Energy website at
kcpl.com/westaracquisition
.
This is not only an exciting time for our company, but also an extremely busy and demanding time for the organization. As we work to bring together Westar and KCP&L, I appreciate your continued focus on running our day-to-day business and meeting our customers’ needs.
Terry
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this communication that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Great Plains Energy Incorporated’s (“Great Plains Energy”) proposed acquisition of Westar Energy, Inc. (“Westar”), shareholder and regulatory approvals, the completion of the proposed transactions, benefits of the proposed transactions, and anticipated future financial measures and operating performance and results, including estimates for growth and other matters affecting future operations. In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Great Plains Energy is providing a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the provided forward-looking information. These important factors include: the risk that Great Plains Energy or Westar may be unable to obtain shareholder approvals for the proposed transactions or that Great Plains Energy or Westar may be unable to obtain governmental and regulatory approvals required for the proposed transactions, or that required governmental and regulatory approvals or agreements with other parties interested therein may delay the proposed transactions or may be subject to or impose adverse conditions or costs; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transactions or could otherwise cause the failure of the proposed transactions to close; risks relating to the potential decline in the Great Plains Energy share price resulting in an increase in the exchange ratio of Great Plains Energy shares offered to Westar shareholders in accordance with the transaction agreement and resulting in reduced value of the proposed transactions to Great Plains Energy shareholders; the risk that a condition to the closing of the proposed transactions or the committed debt or equity financing may not be satisfied; the failure to obtain, or to obtain on favorable terms, any equity, debt or equity-linked financing necessary to complete or permanently finance the proposed transactions and the costs of such financing; the outcome of any legal proceedings, regulatory proceedings or enforcement matters that may be instituted relating to the proposed transactions; the receipt of an unsolicited offer from another party to acquire assets or capital stock of Great Plains Energy or Westar that could interfere with the proposed transactions; the timing to consummate the proposed transactions; the costs incurred to consummate the proposed transactions; the possibility that the expected value creation from the proposed transactions will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; the credit ratings of the companies following the proposed transactions; disruption from the proposed transactions making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees, regulators or suppliers; the diversion of management time and attention on the proposed transactions; future economic conditions in regional, national and international markets and their effects on sales, prices and costs; prices and availability of electricity in regional and national wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry, Great Plains Energy changes in business strategy, operations or development plans; the outcome of contract negotiations for goods and services; effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to, deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding rates the Companies can charge for electricity; adverse changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax, accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air and water quality; financial market conditions and performance including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital, derivatives and hedges and the effects on nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts, including but not limited to cyber terrorism; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; weather conditions including, but not limited to, weather-related damage and their effects on sales, prices and costs; cost, availability, quality and deliverability of fuel; the inherent uncertainties in estimating the effects of weather, economic conditions and other factors on customer consumption and financial results; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; Great Plains Energy’s ability to successfully manage transmission joint ventures or to integrate the transmission joint ventures of Westar; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility including, but not limited to, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including, but not limited to, increased costs of retirement, health care and other benefits; and other risks and uncertainties.
This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. Additional risks and uncertainties will be discussed in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other materials that Great Plains Energy will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the proposed transactions. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in Great Plains Energy’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. Great Plains Energy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any proxy, vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. In connection with the proposed transaction, Great Plains Energy has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-212513), which was declared effective by the SEC, and a definitive joint proxy statement of Great Plains Energy and Westar, which also constitutes a prospectus of Great Plains Energy, each of which is publicly available, and Great Plains Energy and Westar have filed and may file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Great Plains Energy and Westar have mailed to their respective shareholders the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus in connection with the transaction. WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND THESE OTHER MATERIALS CAREFULLY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GREAT PLAINS ENERGY, WESTAR AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.
Investors can obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Great Plains Energy and Westar with the SEC at
http://www.sec.gov
, the SEC’s website, or free of charge from Great Plains Energy’s website (
http://www.greatplainsenergy.com
) under the tab, “Investor Relations” and then under the heading “SEC Filings”. These documents are also available free of charge from Westar’s website (
http://www.westarenergy.com
) under the tab “Investors” and then under the heading “SEC Filings”.
Participants in Proxy Solicitation
Great Plains Energy, Westar and their respective directors and certain of their executive officers and employees may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Great Plains Energy’s and Westar’s shareholders with respect to the proposed transaction. Information regarding the officers and directors of Great Plains Energy is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2016 annual meeting filed with SEC on March 24, 2016. Information regarding the officers and directors of Westar is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2016 annual meeting filed with the SEC on April 1, 2016. Additional information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities, holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the Registration Statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus and other materials filed with SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described in the paragraphs above.
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