The Firm represented PPL WEM Holdings plc (“WEM”), a subsidiary of PPL Corp. (“PPL”), in its offering of $960,000,000 aggregate principal amount of senior notes, consisting of $460,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 3.9% Senior Notes due 2016 and $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.375% Senior Notes due 2021.
The proceeds of the offerings were used primarily to repay a portion of the £3.6 billion Bridge Term Loan Facility used to fund PPL's recently completed £4.1 billion ($6.6 billion) acquisition of the Central Networks in the United Kingdom.
The Firm also represented PPL in connection with the Central Networks acquisition, the Bridge Term Loan Facility and concurrent common stock and equity unit offerings.
WEM is a holding company which owns the Central Networks regulated electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom. PPL, headquartered in Allentown, PA, owns or controls nearly 19,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about 10 million customers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Simpson Thacher team for the 2011 PPL Yankee bond issue included Mark Brod, Nick Shaw, Carol Daniel, Kristyn Greene and Anais Fritz (Capital Markets) and Sean Austin (Tax).