HOUSTON, Aug. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) today announced it has closed the previously announced underwritten public offering of 800,000 shares of its Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock), at a price to the public of $1,000 per share.

"We are excited to complete this transaction as it represents another positive step forward on CenterPoint Energy's close of the pending merger with Vectren Corporation," said Bill Rogers, chief financial officer and executive vice president of CenterPoint Energy.

CenterPoint Energy intends to use the net proceeds of the offering of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock of approximately $790 million (after estimated underwriters' discounts, commissions and offering expenses) to finance a portion of the cash consideration payable by CenterPoint Energy in connection with its pending merger with Vectren Corporation (Vectren Merger), as well as a portion of the related fees and expenses. If for any reason the Vectren Merger is not completed, then CenterPoint Energy expects to use the net proceeds from the offering of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock for general corporate purposes, which may include, in CenterPoint Energy's sole discretion, debt repayment, including repayment of commercial paper, capital expenditures, investments and repurchases of its common stock at the discretion of its board of directors.  

Subject to their declaration by CenterPoint Energy's board of directors, dividends will be payable on a cumulative basis semi-annually at an annual rate of 6.125% of the stated amount per share from the issue date to, but excluding September 1, 2023, and thereafter at a floating rate per annum equal to three-month U.S. dollar LIBOR for each quarterly dividend period, plus a spread of 3.270%. Dividends will be paid in arrears on March 1 and September 1 of each year, commencing on March 1, 2019, and ending on September 1, 2023, and thereafter quarterly in arrears on the first day of March, June, September and December of each year.  

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, MUFG, Mizuho Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities acted as joint book-running managers of the offering. 

The offering of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock was made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The offering of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock was made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. A copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus meeting such requirements related to the offering may be obtained free of charge from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also owns 54.0 percent of the common units representing limited partner interests in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, a publicly traded master limited partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp.Enable Midstream Partners, LP owns, operates and develops natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With more than 8,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years.

This press release includes forward-looking statements. Actual events and results may differ materially from those projected. The statements in this press release regarding the use of proceeds from the offering of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock and the Vectren Merger are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the company's ability to complete the Vectren Merger include, but are not limited to, the satisfaction of the conditions to the Vectren Merger discussed in the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus and other factors discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, CenterPoint Energy's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, and CenterPoint Energy's other filings with the SEC.

For more information contact
Media:
Leticia Lowe
Phone  713.207.7702
Investors:
David Mordy
Phone  713.207.6500

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.