e424b5
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration File No. 333-158200
Common
stock fee table
CALCULATION
OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Maximum
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Amount of
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Title of Each Class of
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Amount to be
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Maximum Offering
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Aggregate
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Registration
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Securities to be Registered
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Registered
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Price Per Unit
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Offering Price
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Fee(1)
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Common Stock, par value $.01
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92,000,000
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$25.30
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$2,327,600,000.00
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$270,234.36
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(1) |
Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(r) and 457(o) under
the Securities Act of 1933.
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PROSPECTUS
SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated March 25, 2009)
80,000,000 Shares
PPL Corporation
Common Stock
We are offering 80,000,000 shares of our common stock. Our
common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol PPL. The last reported sale price of our
common stock on April 11, 2011 was $25.69 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves certain risks. See
Risk Factors beginning on
page S-7
of this prospectus supplement, page 3 of the accompanying
prospectus and in Item 1A in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010.
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Per Share
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Total
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Public offering price
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$
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25.30
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$
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2,024,000,000
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Underwriting discounts and commissions
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$
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0.759
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$
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60,720,000
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Proceeds, before expenses, to us
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$
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24.541
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$
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1,963,280,000
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We have granted to the underwriters a
30-day
option to purchase from us on a pro rata basis up to
12,000,000 additional shares of our common stock at the
public offering price less the underwriting discounts and
commissions, solely to cover over-allotments.
Concurrently with this offering, we are offering, by means of a
separate prospectus supplement, 17,000,000 equity units (or
19,550,000 equity units if the underwriters of that
offering exercise in full their over-allotment option) at a
price of $50 per equity unit. This offering of common stock is
not contingent on the offering of equity units and the offering
of equity units is not contingent upon this offering of common
stock. See Concurrent Equity Units Offering in this
prospectus supplement.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other
regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities
or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus
supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any representation to
the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriters expect to deliver the shares on or about
April 15, 2011.
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Joint Book-Running Managers
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BofA Merrill Lynch
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Credit Suisse
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Barclays Capital
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Morgan Stanley
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Wells Fargo
Securities
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Co-Managers
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BNP PARIBAS
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BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC
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Citi
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Credit Agricole CIB
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Deutsche Bank Securities
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Goldman, Sachs & Co.
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J.P. Morgan
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KeyBanc Capital Markets
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Mitsubishi UFJ Securities
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Mizuho Securities
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Piper Jaffray
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PNC Capital Markets LLC
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RBC Capital Markets
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RBS
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Santander
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Scotia Capital
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SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
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UBS Investment Bank
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The Williams Capital Group, L.P.
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The date of this prospectus supplement is April 11, 2011.
We have authorized only the information contained or
incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus, and any free writing prospectus to be
delivered to you. Neither we nor the underwriters have
authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional
information and you should not assume we have verified any such
information and we take no responsibility for it. We are not
making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer
is not permitted. You should not assume that the information
contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus
supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any
date after the date of this prospectus supplement.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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Page
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Prospectus Supplement
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S-ii
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S-iii
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S-iv
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S-v
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S-1
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S-6
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S-7
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S-10
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S-11
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S-12
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S-13
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S-14
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S-17
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S-18
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S-23
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S-24
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S-24
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Prospectus
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3
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10
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As used in this prospectus supplement, the terms we,
our, us, the Company and
PPL refer to PPL Corporation.
S-i
ABOUT
THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement
that PPL Corporation has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) utilizing a shelf
registration process. Under this shelf process, we are offering
to sell our common stock, using this prospectus supplement and
the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement
describes the specific terms of this offering. The accompanying
prospectus and the information incorporated by reference therein
describe our business and give more general information, some of
which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer
only to the prospectus, we are referring to both
parts combined. You should read this prospectus supplement
together with the accompanying prospectus before making a
decision to invest in our common stock. If the information in
this prospectus supplement or the information incorporated by
reference in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the
accompanying prospectus, the information in this prospectus
supplement or the information incorporated by reference in this
prospectus supplement will apply and will supersede that
information in the accompanying prospectus.
Certain affiliates of PPL Corporation, specifically PPL Capital
Funding Inc., PPL Energy Supply, LLC and PPL Electric Utilities
Corporation, have also registered their securities on the
shelf registration statement referred to above.
S-ii
WHERE YOU
CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
Available
Information
PPL Corporation files reports and other information with the
SEC. You may obtain copies of this information by mail from the
Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E.,
Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed
rates. Further information on the operation of the SECs
Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. can be obtained
by calling the SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330.
PPL Corporation maintains an Internet Web site at
www.pplweb.com. On the Investor Center page of that Web site,
PPL Corporation provides access to its SEC filings free of
charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing with the
SEC. The information on PPL Corporations Web site is not
incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference, and you
should not consider it a part of this prospectus supplement. PPL
Corporations filings are also available at the SECs
Web site (www.sec.gov).
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on
Form S-3
with respect to the securities offered hereby. This prospectus
supplement does not contain all the information set forth in the
registration statement, parts of which are omitted in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further
information with respect to us and the securities offered
hereby, reference is made to the registration statement.
PPL Corporation Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) (symbol: PPL), and reports, proxy
statements and other information concerning PPL Corporation can
also be inspected at the offices of the NYSE at 20 Broad
Street, New York, New York 10005. In addition, proxy statements,
reports and other information concerning PPL Corporation can be
inspected at its offices at Two North Ninth Street, Allentown,
Pennsylvania
18101-1179.
Incorporation
by Reference
PPL Corporation will incorporate by reference
information into this prospectus supplement by disclosing
important information to you by referring you to another
document that it files separately with the SEC. The information
incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this
prospectus supplement, and later information that we file with
the SEC will automatically update and supersede that
information. This prospectus supplement incorporates by
reference the documents set forth below that have been
previously filed with the SEC. These documents contain important
information about PPL Corporation.
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SEC Filings
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Period/Date
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Annual Report on Form 10-K (including information specifically
incorporated by reference into the Annual Report on Form 10-K
from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with
the SEC on April 6, 2011)
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Year ended December 31, 2010 filed with the SEC on
February 28, 2011
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Current Reports on Form 8-K
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Filed with the SEC on June 21, 2010; November 5, 2010
(Form 8-K/A); January 6, 2011; January 14, 2011 (Form
8-K/A);
January 31, 2011; February 28, 2011; March 2,
2011 (second filing, SEC film no. 11657315); March 10,
2011; March 29, 2011; April 1, 2011; April 8,
2011 and April 11, 2011.
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Additional documents that PPL Corporation files with the SEC
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange
Act), between the date of this prospectus supplement and
the termination of this offering of common stock are also
incorporated herein by reference. Unless specifically stated to
the contrary, none of the information that we disclose under
Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on
Form 8-K
that we have furnished or may from time to time furnish with the
SEC is or will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise
included in, this prospectus supplement.
PPL Corporation will provide without charge to each person,
including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this
prospectus supplement has been delivered, a copy of any and all
of its filings with the SEC. You may request a copy of these
filings by writing or telephoning PPL Corporation at:
Two North Ninth Street
Allentown, Pennsylvania
18101-1179
Attention: Investor Services Department
Telephone:
1-800-345-3085
S-iii
CURRENCY
PRESENTATION AND EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION
In this prospectus supplement: (i) £, sterling, or
pound sterling refer to the lawful currency of the United
Kingdom and (ii) $ or U.S. dollar refer to the lawful
currency of the United States. In this prospectus supplement
certain pound sterling amounts have been converted into U.S.
dollar amounts at a rate of $1.6030 per £1, which was the
rate as of 4 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on March 31,
2011. Our inclusion of the exchange rate is not meant to suggest
that the pound sterling amounts actually represent such U.S.
dollar amounts or that such amounts could have been converted
into U.S. dollars at any particular rate, if at all.
S-iv
FORWARD
LOOKING INFORMATION
Statements contained in or incorporated by reference into this
prospectus supplement concerning expectations, beliefs, plans,
objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and
underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than
statements of historical fact are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities
laws. Although we believe that the expectations and assumptions
reflected in these statements are reasonable, there can be no
assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct.
Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the
results discussed in forward-looking statements. In addition to
the specific factors discussed in Risk Factors set
forth below and in the accompanying prospectus, in
Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010 , the following are
among the important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
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fuel supply cost and availability;
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continuing ability to recover fuel and natural gas supply costs
in a timely manner at Louisville Gas and Electric Company and
Kentucky Utilities Company;
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weather conditions affecting generation, customer energy use and
operating costs;
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operation, availability and operating costs of existing
generation facilities;
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transmission and distribution system conditions and operating
costs;
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potential expansion of alternative sources of electricity
generation;
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potential laws or regulations to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases or the physical effects of climate
change;
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collective labor bargaining negotiations;
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the outcome of litigation against PPL and its subsidiaries;
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potential effects of threatened or actual terrorism, war or
other hostilities, or natural disasters;
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the commitments and liabilities of PPL and its subsidiaries;
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market demand and prices for energy, capacity, emission
allowances and delivered fuel;
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competition in retail and wholesale power markets;
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liquidity of wholesale power markets;
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defaults by counterparties under energy, fuel or other power
product contracts;
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market prices of commodity inputs for ongoing capital
expenditures;
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capital market conditions, including the availability of capital
or credit, changes in interest rates, and decisions regarding
capital structure;
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stock price performance of PPL;
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the fair value of debt and equity securities and the impact on
defined benefit costs and resultant cash funding requirements
for defined benefit plans;
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interest rates and their effect on pension, retiree medical and
nuclear decommissioning liabilities;
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volatility in or the impact of other changes in financial or
commodity markets and economic conditions;
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the profitability and liquidity, including access to capital
markets and credit facilities, of PPL and its subsidiaries;
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new accounting requirements or new interpretations or
applications of existing requirements;
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changes in securities and credit ratings;
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S-v
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foreign currency exchange rates;
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current and future environmental conditions, laws, regulations
and other requirements and the related costs or liabilities,
including environmental capital expenditures, emission allowance
costs and other expenses;
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political, regulatory or economic conditions in states, regions
or countries where PPL or its subsidiaries conduct business;
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receipt of necessary governmental permits, approvals and rate
relief;
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new state, federal or foreign legislation, including new tax,
environmental, healthcare or pension-related legislation;
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state, federal and foreign regulatory developments;
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the outcome of any rate cases by PPL Electric Utilities
Corporation at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, by
Louisville Gas and Electric Company or Kentucky Utilities
Company at the Kentucky Public Service Commission, Virginia
State Corporation Commission or the Tennessee Regulatory
Authority, or by Western Power Distribution (South West) plc,
Western Power Distribution (South Wales) plc, Western Power
Distribution (East Midlands) plc and Western Power Distribution
(West Midlands) plc at the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
in the United Kingdom;
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the impact of any state, federal or foreign investigations
applicable to PPL and its subsidiaries and the energy industry;
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the effect of any business or industry restructuring;
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development of new projects, markets and technologies;
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performance of new ventures; and
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business or asset acquisitions and dispositions, including
PPLs acquisition of Central Networks East plc and Central
Networks Limited and its subsidiary, Central Networks West plc,
from E.ON AG and our ability to successfully operate such
acquired businesses and realize expected benefits.
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Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in
light of such important factors and in conjunction with other
documents of PPL on file with the SEC.
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in forward-looking statements emerge from
time to time, and it is not possible for PPL to predict all such
factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination
of factors may cause actual results to differ from those
contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking
statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is
made, and PPL undertakes no obligation to update the information
contained in such statement to reflect subsequent developments
or information.
S-vi
SUMMARY
The following summary contains information about the offering
of the common stock. It does not contain all of the information
that may be important to you in making a decision to purchase
the common stock. For a more complete understanding of PPL
Corporation and the offering of the common stock, we urge you to
read this entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying
prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein
carefully, including the Risk Factors sections and
our financial statements and the notes to those financial
statements.
PPL
Corporation
PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, PA, is an energy
and utility holding company that was incorporated in 1994.
Through its subsidiaries, PPL owns or controls nearly 19,000
megawatts (MW) of generating capacity in the United
States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers
electricity and natural gas to approximately 10 million
customers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Acquisition
of Central Networks
On April 1, 2011, we, through our indirect wholly owned
subsidiary, acquired from E.ON AG, a German corporation, all of
the issued and outstanding ordinary share capital of Central
Networks East plc and Central Networks Limited, together with
certain other assets transferred by or on behalf of E.ON AG,
collectively representing the electricity distribution
businesses of Central Networks East plc and Central Networks
West plc (collectively, Central Networks), located
in the Midlands region of England (the Acquisition).
The approximately £4.1 billion ($6.6 billion)
purchase price was paid at closing by the assumption of
approximately £500 million of indebtedness and the payment
in cash of approximately £3.6 billion, comprised of
approximately £2.6 billion representing the equity
purchase price, and approximately £1.0 billion
representing repayment of certain intercompany indebtedness owed
by Central Networks to E.ON AG and its affiliates. Upon the
completion of the Acquisition, the name of Central Networks East
was changed to Western Power Distribution (East Midlands) plc
(East Midlands) and the name of Central Networks
West was changed to Western Power Distribution (West Midlands)
plc (West Midlands and together with East Midlands,
WPD Midlands).
WPD Midlands is the second largest provider of regulated
electricity distribution services in the United Kingdom, serving
approximately 5.1 million customers and operating
approximately 84,000 miles of lines in an area comprising
central England, including the cities of Birmingham and
Nottingham. We also provide regulated distribution services to
2.6 million customers in England and Wales through Western
Power Distribution (South West) plc (WPD South West)
and Western Power Distribution (South Wales) plc (WPD
South Wales and together with WPD South West,
WPD). WPD operates about 52,000 miles of lines
in South West England and South Wales, including the cities of
Bristol and Cardiff. The WPD and WPD Midlands service
territories are contiguous and, upon completion of the
Acquisition, PPL became the owner and operator of the largest
network of electricity delivery companies in the United Kingdom
in terms of regulated asset value, at a combined value of
approximately £4.9 billion ($7.8 billion).
Concurrently with the Acquisition, we borrowed
£3.6 billion under a
364-day
unsecured bridge facility (the Bridge Facility) to
fund the Acquisition and pay certain fees and expenses incurred
in connection with the Acquisition. We expect that borrowings
under the Bridge Facility will be repaid with the proceeds of
certain alternative forms of financing, including proceeds from
this offering, the concurrent equity units offering described
below and subsequent issuances of debt by one or more of the WPD
Midlands companies and their affiliates.
S-1
Acquisition
Rationale
We believe the Acquisition will provide us with significant
benefits:
Acquiring
an attractive business
We believe the regulatory framework under which U.K. electricity
network utilities operate is attractive. Under the U.K.
regulatory framework, revenues are based on a regulator-approved
five-year forward looking operating and capital plan. In our
view, the U.K. regulatory framework (which permits higher
revenue for greater efficiency) compares favorably in certain
respects to the ratemaking framework that is common for U.S.
electricity distribution utilities, which requires periodic rate
cases that are based on the recovery of historical costs.
Additionally, under the U.K. regulatory framework, returns are
not subject to volumetric risk or inflation risk, as revenues
are adjusted annually for both changes in load and inflation.
The U.K. regulator also provides additional incentives for
operational efficiency and high quality service, which we
believe have the potential to be significant.
Leveraging PPLs existing U.K. management team and
providing potential for increased returns
WPDs
best-in-class
management team has consistently performed at a high level
relative to its peers, both in capital cost efficiency and
customer service. Under the U.K. regulatory framework,
outperformance in each of these categories has the potential to
earn incentive rewards. WPD has an established track record of
outperformance and, as a result, earning significant bonus
revenue. During the 2005-2009 rate cycle, WPD earned more bonus
revenue, as a percentage of price controlled revenue, than any
other network operator in the United Kingdom. The lower
historical performance of WPD Midlands as compared to WPD
creates a significant opportunity for our management team to
improve the performance of WPD Midlands and potentially earn
additional bonus revenue. As evidenced by WPDs integration
of WPD South Wales, which was acquired in 2000, the WPD
management team has demonstrated its ability to rapidly and
successfully integrate a significant U.K. electric distribution
network. The WPD and WPD Midlands service territories are
contiguous, providing the opportunity for significant synergies
from the combined operations. We expect to realize immediate
synergy benefits resulting from the combined operations in the
form of operating and capital expenditure savings, which we aim
to grow to approximately $100 million per year by 2013 and
be approximately evenly split between operating and capital
expenditures. As permitted under the U.K. regulatory framework,
we believe we can retain substantially all of these synergies
through the current price control review period ending in March
2015 and approximately 47% in the next review period, which is
expected to end in March 2023. Pro forma for the Acquisition,
PPL will have the largest electric delivery business in the
United Kingdom with an expected regulated asset value of
approximately £4.9 billion as of March 31, 2011.
Accretive
to earnings
We expect the Acquisition to be accretive to earnings in part
due to the expected retention of synergies described above. In
addition, the WPD management team has an opportunity to earn
incentive rewards during the U.K. regulators fifth
distribution price control review.
Achieves
a more regulated business mix in attractive regulatory
environments
The Acquisition further increases our regulated business mix by
adding a regulatory asset base in an attractive regulatory
environment. Pro forma for the Acquisition, we expect that
approximately two-thirds of our consolidated regulated capital
expenditures will be subject to minimal or no regulatory review
periods, which we believe will help enable us to earn attractive
returns at our regulated businesses.
With the addition of WPD Midlands, we expect to nearly triple
our regulatory asset base in the United Kingdom, growing from
$2.8 billion in 2010 to $8.1 billion in 2011, creating
a more diversified enterprise while providing additional
opportunities for regulated business growth and an opportunity
to leverage WPDs management capabilities.
S-2
Combined
Business
The Acquisition creates a diversified utility holding company
with pro forma 2010 revenues of over $11.8 billion. PPL now
serves approximately 10 million electricity customers
across its service areas in the United States and the United
Kingdom, and owns a competitive generation business with a total
capacity of over 11,000 MW. We believe we will benefit from a
more highly regulated business mix with significant scale,
positioned in attractive regulated and competitive markets, with
visible growth opportunities while preserving the value of our
well-positioned competitive generation fleet. Our principal
subsidiaries (giving effect to the Acquisition) are shown below:
Regulated
Operations
PPL
Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, or PPL Electric, serves
approximately 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and
enjoys attractive rate base investment opportunities to support
its infrastructure and maintain reliability. PPL Electrics
rate base is expected to grow by approximately $1.7 billion
between 2011 and 2015, with an estimated compound annual growth
rate of approximately 7% in its distribution rate base and
approximately 22% in its transmission rate base. PPL
Electrics transmission development projects include the
construction of the
150-mile,
500 kV Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line that is part of
Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Marylands (PJM)
Regional Transmission Expansion Program. PPL Electrics
portion of the line is expected to cost $500 million. The
FERC tariff for this project includes an approved 12.93% return
on equity (ROE).
LG&E
and KU
Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and
Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) are vertically
integrated utility companies. LG&E delivers electricity and
gas to approximately 715,000 customers in Kentucky and KU
delivers electricity to approximately 544,000 customers in
Kentucky and Virginia. We believe the companies operate in a
constructive and fair regulatory environment that is generally
viewed as balancing the interests of consumers and investors,
generally providing timely recovery of approved environmental
investments, as well as timely recovery for fuel costs and gas
supply. These regulatory mechanisms, together with periodic rate
case filings, provide the utilities the opportunity to earn
their allowed ROEs. LG&E and KU also have strong customer
service records as demonstrated by their first place J.D. Power
regional awards for customer service in seven of the last ten
years. The utilities have among the lowest operating costs in
the United States and overall rates that are among the lowest
rates in the nation, with 2010 electric retail rates 31% below
the Midwest average and 31% below the overall U.S. average,
according to the Edison Electric Institute. LG&E and
KUs rate base is expected to grow by approximately
$3.3 billion between 2011 and 2015, with an estimated
compound annual growth rate of approximately 10.5%.
S-3
PPL
Global, LLC
PPL Global, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of PPL,
engages in the operation of international electricity
distribution businesses in the United Kingdom principally
through its four operating subsidiaries, WPD South West, WPD
South Wales, East Midlands and West Midlands (each a
Distribution Network Operator, or DNO).
Each DNO is licensed by the U.K. government to provide
electricity distribution services within its concession areas
and service territories, subject to certain conditions and
obligations. For instance, each DNO is subject to governmental
regulation of the prices it can charge and the quality of
service it must provide, and each DNO can be fined or have its
licenses revoked if it does not meet the mandated standard of
service.
Each DNO operates under distribution licenses and price controls
regulated by the U.K. regulator, the Office of Gas and
Electricity Markets (Ofgem). The price control
formula that governs each DNOs allowed revenue is normally
determined every five years. Ofgem completed its most recent
distribution price control review in December 2009 for the
five-year period from April 1, 2010 through March 31,
2015.
WPD
WPD South West and WPD South Wales are each indirect
subsidiaries of PPL Global, LCC, and together deliver
electricity to approximately 2.6 million end users in the
United Kingdom. Each of WPD South West and WPD South Wales is
regulated by Ofgem. WPDs regulatory asset base is expected
to increase from $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion between
2011 and 2015. WPD is allowed an average annual increase in
total revenues, before inflationary adjustments, of 6.9% for the
five-year period from April 1, 2010 through March 31,
2015 based on the outcome of the most recent
5-year
review of WPDs cost structure by Ofgem. The utility has
earned the U.K. governments Customer Service Excellence
Standard for 19 consecutive years.
East
Midlands
East Midlands (formerly known as Central Networks East), an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Global, LLC, is the
regulated distributor of electricity in the East Midlands area
of England. East Midlands was incorporated as a public limited
company on April 1, 1989. East Midlands principal
activity is the distribution of electricity to industrial,
commercial and domestic customers within its regulated area.
East Midlands is regulated by Ofgem.
East Midlands distribution license authorizes it to
distribute electricity in Great Britain with additional
obligations in the East Midlands over an area covering
approximately 6,293 square miles, extending from
the Lincolnshire coast to the outskirts of Coventry, and
from Milton Keynes in the south to the Derbyshire Peak District
in the north. As a result, it serves a diverse customer base
including rural communities and the large metropolitan areas on
the M1 motorway corridor such as Nottingham, Derby, Northampton
and Rugby. East Midlands network, which consists of
approximately 30,634 miles of underground cables and
13,857 miles of overhead lines (as of March 31, 2010),
distributed 28,300 gigawatt hours of electricity in the year
ended March 31, 2010 to approximately 2.6 million end
customers.
West
Midlands
West Midlands (formerly known as Central Networks West), an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Global, LLC, is the
regulated distributor of electricity in the West Midlands area
of England. West Midlands was incorporated as a public limited
company on July 20, 1998. West Midlands principal
activity is the distribution of electricity to industrial,
commercial and domestic customers. West Midlands is regulated by
Ofgem.
West Midlands distribution license authorizes it to
distribute electricity in Great Britain with additional
obligations in the West Midlands over an area covering
approximately 5,174 square miles, extending from the
outskirts of Bristol in the South to Staffordshire in the North
and from approximately the M6 motorway to the Welsh boundary. As
a result, it serves a diverse customer base including rural
communities and Englands second largest city, Birmingham.
West Midlands network, which consists of approximately
24,296 miles of underground cables and 15,037 miles of
overhead lines (as of March 31, 2010), distributed 24,700
gigawatt hours of electricity in the year ended March 31,
2010 to approximately 2.5 million end customers.
S-4
Competitive
Electricity Generation Operations
PPL
Energy Supply
PPL Energy Supply owns a highly attractive baseload-oriented
competitive generation portfolio, with competitively positioned
gas, nuclear, hydro and efficient coal assets. Our coal and
nuclear fleet accounted for a total of 55% of 2010 installed
capacity and 79% of 2010 generation, and we expect our coal and
nuclear fleet to account for a greater proportion of our
competitive generation portfolio following the March 2011 sale
of 969 MW of non-core hydro and gas assets. Our nuclear and
hydro uprate / expansion projects are expected to add
an additional 214 MW by 2013. Approximately 40% of our
current generation output emits low or no carbon dioxide and, as
a result, PPL Energy Supply could be a potential net beneficiary
of certain potential carbon emission regulation. The underlying
value of PPL Energy Supply is strongly and positively correlated
to a recovery in natural gas prices because gas-fired generation
generally establishes the marginal clearing price for
electricity in the PJM Regional Transmission Interconnection
Area where PPL Energy Supply has significant generation
capacity. PPL Energy Supplys disciplined multi-year
hedging program is designed to mitigate against further weakness
in energy prices in the near term. As of December 31, 2010,
expected baseload volumes are hedged 99% for 2011, 68% for 2012
and 15% for 2013.
Concurrent
Equity Units Offering
Concurrently with this offering, we are offering, by means of a
separate prospectus supplement, 17,000,000 equity units (or
19,550,000 equity units if the underwriters of that
offering exercise in full their over-allotment option). This
offering of common stock is not contingent on the offering of
equity units and the offering of equity units is not contingent
upon this offering of common stock. See Concurrent Equity
Units Offering.
S-5
THE
OFFERING
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Issuer |
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PPL Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation |
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Common stock offered by us |
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80,000,000 shares |
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Over-allotment option |
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12,000,000 shares |
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Common stock to be outstanding after this offering
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565,106,402 shares (or 577,106,402 shares if the
underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
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Use of proceeds |
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We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering and the
concurrent equity units offering to reduce our borrowings under
the Bridge Facility, the proceeds of which were used to fund the
consideration for the Acquisition and pay certain fees and
expenses relating to the Acquisition. See Use of
Proceeds. |
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Dividend policy |
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We have paid quarterly cash dividends on our common stock in
every year since 1946. The annual dividends declared per share
in 2010 and in 2009 were $1.40 and $1.38, respectively. Future
dividends, declared at the discretion of our board of directors,
will be dependent upon future earnings, cash flows and other
factors. |
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Listing |
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Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol PPL. |
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Conflicts of interest |
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Affiliates of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are lenders
under the Bridge Facility and will receive more than five
percent of the net proceeds of this offering. See Use of
Proceeds. Thus, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
have a conflict of interest as defined under the
applicable provisions of Rule 5121 of the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA. See
Conflicts of Interest. |
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Risk factors |
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An investment in our common stock involves various risks, and
prospective investors should carefully consider the matters
discussed under the caption entitled Risk Factors
beginning on
page S-7
of this prospectus supplement, beginning on page 3 of the
accompanying prospectus and in Item 1A in our Annual Report
on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010. |
Unless we indicate otherwise, the number of shares of our common
stock to be outstanding after this offering excludes
(i) 33,597,100 shares of common stock (or 38,636,665 shares
of common stock if the underwriters overallotment option
is exercised in full) issuable upon the settlement under the
equity units to be offered in the concurrent equity units
offering (excluding any additional shares issuable upon a
fundamental change) (see Concurrent Equity Units
Offering) and (ii) 47,915,900 shares of common
stock issuable upon the settlement of the equity units issued by
us in June 2010 (excluding 13,220,400 additional shares
issuable upon a fundamental change). In addition, unless we
indicate otherwise, the information in this prospectus
supplement assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their
over-allotment option with respect to this offering or under the
concurrent equity units offering.
S-6
RISK
FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk.
In addition to the other information contained in this
prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the
information incorporated by reference herein and therein, you
should consider carefully the following factors relating to us
and our common stock before making an investment in our common
stock offered hereby. In addition to the risk factors set forth
below, please read the information included or incorporated by
reference under Risk Factors in the accompanying
prospectus, and in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010. If any of the
following risks or those incorporated by reference actually
occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition,
cash flows or prospects could be materially adversely affected,
which in turn could adversely affect the trading price of our
common stock. As a result, you may lose all or part of your
original investment. You should carefully review the information
in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus
about these securities. As used in this section, we,
our, us, PPL and the
Company refer to PPL Corporation and not to any of
its subsidiaries.
Risk
Factors Relating to Our Common Stock
We
have issued securities that contain provisions that could
restrict our payment of dividends.
We and our subsidiaries currently have outstanding
$1,630,000,000 principal amount of junior subordinated notes and
pursuant to our concurrent equity units offering expect to issue
an additional $850,000,000 principal amount of our junior
subordinated notes (or $977,500,000 principal amount if the
underwriters of that offering exercise in full their
over-allotment option), and we and our subsidiaries may in the
future issue additional junior subordinated notes or similar
securities, that in certain circumstances, including the failure
to pay current interest, would limit our ability to pay
dividends on our common stock. While we currently do not
anticipate that any of these circumstances will occur, no
assurance can be given that these circumstances will not occur
in the future.
There
may be future sales or other dilution of our equity, which may
adversely affect the market price of our common
stock.
Except as described under Underwriting, we are not
restricted from issuing additional shares of our common stock,
including any securities that are convertible into or
exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, our
common stock. The market price of our common stock could decline
as a result of sales of shares of our common stock or sales of
such other securities made after this offering or the perception
that such sales could occur.
The
price of our common stock may fluctuate
significantly.
The price of our common stock on the NYSE constantly changes. We
expect that the market price of our common stock will continue
to fluctuate.
Our stock price may fluctuate as a result of a variety of
factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors
include:
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periodic variations in our operating results or the quality of
our assets;
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operating results that vary from the expectations of securities
analysts and investors;
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changes in expectations as to our future financial performance;
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announcements of innovations, new products, strategic
developments, significant contracts, acquisitions, divestitures
and other material events by us or our competitors;
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the operating and securities price performance of other
companies that investors believe are comparable to us;
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future sales of our equity or equity-related securities; and
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changes in U.S. and global financial markets and economies and
general market conditions, such as interest or foreign exchange
rates, stock, commodity or real estate valuations or volatility.
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S-7
In addition, in recent years, the stock market in general has
experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This
volatility has had a significant effect on the market price of
securities issued by many companies, including for reasons
unrelated to their operating performance. These broad market
fluctuations may adversely affect our stock price regardless of
our operating results.
Risks
Relating to the Acquisition
The
Acquisition may not achieve its intended results, including
anticipated synergies and cost savings.
Although we completed the Acquisition with the expectation that
it will result in various benefits, including a significant
amount of synergies, cost savings and other financial and
operational benefits, there can be no assurance regarding when
or the extent to which we will be able to realize these
synergies, cost-savings or other benefits. Achieving the
anticipated benefits, including synergies and cost savings, is
subject to a number of uncertainties, including whether the
businesses acquired can be operated in the manner we intend and
whether our costs to finance the Acquisition will be consistent
with our expectations. Events outside of our control, including
but not limited to regulatory changes or developments in the
United Kingdom, could also adversely affect our ability to
realize the anticipated benefits from the Acquisition. Thus the
integration may be unpredictable, subject to delays or changed
circumstances, and we can give no assurance that the acquired
businesses will perform in accordance with our expectations or
that our expectations with respect to integration, synergies or
cost savings as a result of the Acquisition will materialize. In
addition, we expect to incur additional costs and charges in
connection with integrating the acquired Central Networks
businesses, including severance payments and other restructuring
and transitional charges. Additional unanticipated costs may
also arise during the integration process. In addition, we
continue to integrate parts of our acquisition of LG&E and
KU, which we acquired in November 2010. The integration of the
WPD Midlands businesses may place an additional burden on our
management and internal resources, and the diversion of
managements attention during the integration and
restructuring process could have an adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and expected operating results.
The
Acquisition exposes us to additional risks and uncertainties
with respect to the acquired businesses and their
operations.
We expect that the Acquisition will rebalance our business mix
to a greater percentage of regulated operations. While we
believe this should help mitigate our exposure to downturns in
the wholesale power markets, it will increase our dependence on
rate-of-return regulation. Although we are already exposed to
risks relating to
rate-of-return
regulation, the Acquisition will increase these risks.
The acquired businesses will generally be subject to risks
similar to those that we are subject to in our existing U.K.
businesses. In addition, they will be subject to the following
risks:
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Under current regulation by Ofgem, our U.K. regulated
businesses allowed revenue is determined by the
distribution price controls set out under the terms of their
respective distribution licenses, and is typically set by Ofgem
every five years. The current price control period runs from
April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2015. Furthermore, our
ability to earn additional revenue under Ofgem regulations is
highly dependent on our ability to achieve certain operational
efficiency, customer service and other incentives, and we can
provide no assurance that we will be able to achieve such
incentives.
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There are various changes being contemplated by Ofgem to the
current electricity distribution, gas transmission and gas
distribution regulatory frameworks in the United Kingdom and
there can be no assurance as to the effects such changes will
have on our U.K. regulated businesses in the future, including
the acquired businesses. In particular, in October 2010, Ofgem
announced a new regulatory framework that is expected to become
effective in April 2015 for the electricity distribution sector
in the United Kingdom. The framework, known as RIIO (Revenues =
Incentives + Innovation + Outputs), focuses on sustainability,
environmental-focused output measures, promotion of low carbon
energy networks and financing of new investments. The new
regulatory framework is expected to have a wide-ranging effect
on electricity distribution companies operating in the United
Kingdom, including changes to price controls and price review
periods. Our U.K. regulated businesses compliance with
this new regulatory framework may result in significant
additional capital expenditures, increases in operating and
compliance costs and adjustments to our pricing models.
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S-8
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Ofgem has formal powers to propose modifications to each
distribution license. We are not currently aware of any planned
modification to any of our U.K. regulated businesses
distribution licenses that would result in a material adverse
effect to the U.K. regulated businesses and PPL. There can,
however, be no assurance that a restrictive modification will
not be introduced in the future, which could have an adverse
effect on the operations and financial condition of the U.K.
regulated businesses and PPL.
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A failure to operate the WPD Midlands network properly
could lead to compensation payments or penalties, or a failure
to make capital expenditures in line with agreed investment
programs could lead to deterioration of the network. While our
U.K. regulated businesses investment programs are targeted
to maintain asset conditions over a five year period and reduce
customer interruptions and customer minutes lost over the
period, no assurance can be provided that these regulatory
requirements will be met.
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A failure by any of our U.K. regulated businesses to comply with
the terms of a distribution license may lead to the issuance of
an enforcement order by Ofgem that could have an adverse impact
on PPL. Ofgem has powers to levy fines of up to 10 percent
of revenue for any breach of a distribution license or, in
certain circumstances such as insolvency, the distribution
license itself may be revoked. Unless terminated in the
circumstances mentioned above, a distribution license continues
indefinitely until revoked by Ofgem following no less than
25 years written notice. Our U.K. regulated
businesses have in place policies, systems and processes to help
ensure compliance with their distribution licenses and relevant
legislation. While none of our U.K. regulated businesses are
currently subject to any formal or informal investigation by
Ofgem in relation to enforcement matters and we are not aware of
any area of material non-compliance, there can be no guarantee
that our regulated U.K. businesses will not be subject to
investigation or enforcement action in the future.
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We will be subject to increased foreign currency exchange rate
risks because a greater portion of our cash flows and reported
earnings will be generated by our U.K. business operations.
These risks relate primarily to changes in the relative value of
the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar between the time we
initially invest U.S. dollars in our U.K. businesses and the
time that cash is repatriated to the United States from the
United Kingdom, including cash flows from our U.K. businesses
that may be distributed as future dividends to our shareholders.
In addition, our consolidated reported earnings on a U.S. GAAP
basis may be subject to increased earnings translation risk,
which is the result of the conversion of earnings as reported in
our U.K. businesses on a pound sterling basis to a U.S.
dollar basis in accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements.
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Environmental costs and liabilities associated with aspects of
the acquired businesses may differ from those of our existing
business, including with respect to our electricity
distribution, gas transmission and certain former operations, as
well as with governmental and other third party proceedings.
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We
will incur significant transaction and Acquisition-related costs
in connection with financing the Acquisition.
We expect to incur significant non-recurring costs associated
with financing the Acquisition, including costs associated with
borrowings under the Bridge Facility. Concurrently with the
Acquisition, we borrowed the full amount available under the
Bridge Facility to fund the Acquisition purchase price and pay
certain fees and expenses incurred in connection with the
Acquisition. While we expect that borrowings under the Bridge
Facility will be repaid with the proceeds of certain alternative
forms of financing, including proceeds from this offering and
the concurrent equity units offering, as well as subsequent
issuances of debt by one or more of the WPD Midlands companies
and their affiliates, the costs of continued borrowing under the
Bridge Facility are likely to be significant. In addition, we
will be subject to numerous market risks in connection with our
plan to raise alternative financing to repay our obligations
under the Bridge Facility, including risks related to general
economic conditions, changes in the costs of capital and of the
demand for securities of the types we will seek to offer to
raise the alternative financing, including the securities being
offered hereunder.
S-9
USE OF
PROCEEDS
We expect that net proceeds from this offering, after deducting
underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses payable by us, will be approximately $2.0 billion
(approximately $2.3 billion if the underwriters
over-allotment option is exercised in full).
In addition, we expect to receive net proceeds, after deducting
underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses, of approximately $824 million, from our
concurrent equity units offering (approximately
$947 million if the underwriters over-allotment
option is exercised in full). The equity units offering is not
contingent on the completion of this offering and this offering
is not contingent on the completion of the equity units offering.
We will use the net proceeds from this offering and the
concurrent equity units offering to reduce our April 1,
2011 borrowings under the Bridge Facility, the proceeds of which
were used to fund the consideration for the Acquisition and pay
certain fees and expenses relating to the Acquisition. The
Bridge Facility was entered into on March 25, 2011 and is a
364-day unsecured credit facility (with an option to extend the
maturity date for up to six months). The initial rate of
interest payable under the Bridge Facility is 2.61875%. The rate
of interest payable under the Bridge Facility is the aggregate
per annum of an adjusted LIBOR rate plus the applicable interest
margin. The applicable interest margin may vary from 1.25% to
3.25% depending on the passage of time and the occurrence of
certain events.
S-10
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth the historical consolidated cash
and cash equivalents and capitalization of PPL Corporation and
its consolidated subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010:
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on an actual basis; and
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on an as-adjusted (unaudited) basis, after giving effect to:
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the Acquisition and borrowings under the Bridge Facility used to
fund the consideration for the Acquisition and pay certain
related fees and expenses;
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the issuance and sale of the common stock offered hereby
(assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment
option);
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the issuance and sale of the equity units, including the junior
subordinated notes included therein, offered in the concurrent
equity units offering (assuming no exercise of the
underwriters over-allotment option for the concurrent
equity units offering); and
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the repayment of amounts borrowed under the Bridge Facility with
the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent equity
units offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters
over-allotment option for this offering or the concurrent equity
units offering) as described under Use of Proceeds.
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This table should be read in conjunction with the section of
this prospectus supplement entitled Use of Proceeds;
the consolidated financial statements of PPL Corporation and its
consolidated subsidiaries and the notes related thereto; and the
financial and operating data incorporated by reference in this
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including
our current report on
Form 8-K
filed April 11, 2011 for the unaudited historical
consolidated financial data of Central Networks and
unaudited pro forma combined financial data and accompanying
disclosures.
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As of December 31,
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2010
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Actual
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As Adjusted
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(In millions)
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Cash and cash equivalents
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$
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925
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$
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816
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Short-term debt(1):
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Bridge Facility
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$
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$
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2,983
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(2)
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Other short-term debt
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694
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698
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Total short-term debt
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694
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3,681
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Long-term debt, including current portion
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12,663
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13,491
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4.32% Junior subordinated notes due 2019(3)
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850
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Total long-term debt
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12,663
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14,341
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Noncontrolling interests
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268
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268
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Shareowners common equity
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8,210
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9,953
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(4)
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Total equity
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8,478
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10,221
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Total capitalization
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$
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21,141
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$
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24,562
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(1) |
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The total short-term debt and Bridge Facility as adjusted
amounts reflect the application of net proceeds of approximately
$2.0 billion from this offering and net proceeds of
approximately $824 million from the concurrent equity units
offering as described under Use of Proceeds. |
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(2) |
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Reflects the repayment of approximately $2.8 billion of
borrowings under the Bridge Facility with the net proceeds of
this offering and the concurrent equity units offering (assuming
no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option for
this offering or the concurrent equity units offering). On
April 1, 2011, we borrowed £3.6 billion
(approximately $5.7 billion) under the Bridge Facility to
fund the Acquisition and pay certain fees and expenses incurred
in connection with the Acquisition. See
Summary Acquisition of Central Networks. |
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(3) |
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The 4.32% junior subordinated notes due 2019 are a
component of the equity units. The as adjusted amount will
increase to approximately $978 million if the underwriters
exercise their over-allotment option in full. |
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(4) |
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Reflects an adjustment of approximately $105 million
representing the estimated present value of the contract
adjustments payable in connection with the equity units. |
S-11
PRICE
RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DIVIDENDS
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol
PPL. The following table sets forth on a per share
basis the high and low sales prices for consolidated trading in
our common stock as reported on the NYSE and dividends for the
quarters indicated. The closing price of our common stock on
April 11, 2011 was $25.69.
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Price Range of
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Common Stock
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Dividend Paid
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High
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Low
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per Share
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Fiscal Year 2008
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First Quarter
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$
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55.23
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$
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44.72
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$
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0.305
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Second Quarter
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$
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54.00
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$
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46.04
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$
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0.335
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Third Quarter
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$
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53.78
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$
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34.95
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$
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0.335
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Fourth Quarter
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$
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37.88
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$
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26.84
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$
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0.335
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Fiscal Year 2009
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First Quarter
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$
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33.54
|
|
|
$
|
24.25
|
|
|
$
|
0.335
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Second Quarter
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$
|
34.42
|
|
|
$
|
27.40
|
|
|
$
|
0.345
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Third Quarter
|
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$
|
34.21
|
|
|
$
|
28.27
|
|
|
$
|
0.345
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Fourth Quarter
|
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$
|
33.05
|
|
|
$
|
28.82
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|
|
$
|
0.345
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Fiscal Year 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Quarter
|
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$
|
32.77
|
|
|
$
|
27.47
|
|
|
$
|
0.345
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|
Second Quarter
|
|
$
|
28.80
|
|
|
$
|
23.75
|
|
|
$
|
0.350
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|
Third Quarter
|
|
$
|
28.00
|
|
|
$
|
24.83
|
|
|
$
|
0.350
|
|
Fourth Quarter
|
|
$
|
28.14
|
|
|
$
|
25.13
|
|
|
$
|
0.350
|
|
Fiscal Year 2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Quarter
|
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$
|
26.98
|
|
|
$
|
24.10
|
|
|
$
|
0.350
|
|
Second Quarter (through April 11, 2011)
|
|
$
|
25.99
|
|
|
$
|
25.23
|
|
|
$
|
0.350
|
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The number of registered shareholders of our common stock at
March 31, 2011, was 69,883. We expect to continue our
policy of paying regular cash dividends, although there is no
assurance as to future dividends because they are dependent on
future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and
any contractual restriction or restrictions that may be imposed
by our existing or future debt instruments.
S-12
CONCURRENT
EQUITY UNITS OFFERING
Concurrently with this offering of common stock, under a
separate prospectus supplement dated the date hereof, we are
offering 17,000,000 equity units (19,550,000 equity units if the
underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full)
in an underwritten public offering. Each equity unit will have a
stated amount of $50 and will consist of a contract to purchase
shares of our common stock and, initially, a 1/20, or 5%,
undivided beneficial ownership interest in $1,000 principal
amount of our 4.32% junior subordinated notes due 2019. The
purchase contracts obligate the holder to purchase, and us to
sell, on May 1, 2014, for a price of $50 in cash, a number
of shares of our common stock calculated based on the market
price of our common stock, subject to anti-dilution adjustments
as provided in such purchase contracts. The equity units
offering is not contingent on the completion of this offering
and this offering is not contingent upon the completion of the
equity units offering. We plan to use the proceeds from the
equity units offering and the proceeds of this offering to
reduce our obligations under the Bridge Facility, the proceeds
of which were used to fund the consideration for the Acquisition
and pay certain fees and expenses relating to the Acquisition.
See Use of Proceeds.
The foregoing description and other information regarding the
equity units offering is included herein solely for
informational purposes. Nothing in this prospectus supplement
should be construed as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of
an offer to buy, any equity units included in the equity units
offering.
S-13
CERTAIN
UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME AND
ESTATE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-US HOLDERS
The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income and
estate tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and
disposition of our common stock as of the date hereof. Except
where noted, this summary deals only with common stock that is
held as a capital asset by a
non-U.S. holder.
A
non-U.S. holder
means a beneficial owner of our common stock (other than a
partnership) that is not for U.S. federal income tax purposes
any of the following:
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an individual citizen or resident of the United States;
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a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for
U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or
under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the
District of Columbia;
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an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income
taxation regardless of its source; or
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a trust if it (1) is subject to the primary supervision of
a court within the United States and one or more
United States persons have the authority to control all
substantial decisions of the trust or (2) has a valid
election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to
be treated as a United States person.
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This summary is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and
regulations, rulings and judicial decisions as of the date
hereof. Those authorities may be changed, perhaps retroactively,
so as to result in U.S. federal income and estate tax
consequences different from those summarized below. This summary
does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income and estate
taxes and does not deal with foreign, state, local or other tax
considerations that may be relevant to
non-U.S. holders
in light of their personal circumstances. In addition, it does
not represent a detailed description of the U.S. federal income
tax consequences applicable to you if you are subject to special
treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws (including if
you are a U.S. expatriate, controlled foreign
corporation, passive foreign investment
company or a partnership or other pass-through entity for
U.S. federal income tax purposes). We cannot assure you that a
change in law will not alter significantly the tax
considerations that we describe in this summary.
If a partnership holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a
partner will generally depend upon the status of the partner and
the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a
partnership holding our common stock, you should consult your
tax advisors.
If you are considering the purchase of our common stock, you
should consult your own tax advisors concerning the particular
U.S. federal income and estate tax consequences to you of the
ownership of the common stock, as well as the consequences to
you arising under the laws of any other taxing jurisdiction.
Dividends
Dividends paid to a
non-U.S. holder
of our common stock generally will be subject to withholding of
U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may
be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However,
dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a
trade or business by the
non-U.S. holder
within the U.S. (and, if required by an applicable income tax
treaty, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment) are
not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain
certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied.
Instead, such dividends are subject to U.S. federal income tax
on a net income basis in the same manner as if the
non-U.S. holder
were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any
such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign
corporation may be subject to an additional branch profits
tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified
by an applicable income tax treaty.
A
non-U.S. holder
of our common stock who wishes to claim the benefit of an
applicable treaty rate and avoid backup withholding, as
discussed below, for dividends will be required (a) to
complete Internal Revenue Service
Form W-8BEN
(or other applicable form) and certify under penalty of perjury
that such holder is not a United States person as defined
under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits or
(b) if our common stock is held through certain foreign
intermediaries, to satisfy the relevant certification
requirements of applicable U.S. Treasury regulations.
S-14
Special certification and other requirements apply to certain
non-U.S. holders
that are pass-through entities rather than corporations or
individuals.
A
non-U.S. holder
of our common stock eligible for a reduced rate of U.S.
withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a
refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate
claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service.
Gain on
Disposition of Common Stock
Any gain realized on the disposition of our common stock
generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax unless:
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the gain is effectively connected with a trade or business of
the
non-U.S. holder
in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income
tax treaty, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of
the
non-U.S. holder);
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the
non-U.S. holder
is an individual who is present in the United States for
183 days or more in the taxable year of that disposition,
and certain other conditions are met; or
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we are or have been a United States real property holding
corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any
time during the shorter of the five-year period preceding the
disposition or the non-U.S. holders holding period, and
either our common stock has ceased to be traded on an
established securities market prior to the beginning of the
calendar year in which the sale or disposition occurs or the
non-U.S. holder owns or has owned a threshold amount of our
common stock, as described below.
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An individual
non-U.S. holder
described in the first bullet point immediately above will be
subject to tax on the net gain derived from the sale under
regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates. An individual
non-U.S. holder
described in the second bullet point immediately above will be
subject to a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale,
which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses, even though
the individual is not considered a resident of the United
States. If a
non-U.S. holder
that is a foreign corporation falls under the first bullet point
immediately above, it will be subject to tax on its net gain in
the same manner as if it were a United States person as
defined under the Code and, in addition, may be subject to the
branch profits tax equal to 30% of its effectively connected
earnings and profits or at such lower rate as may be specified
by an applicable income tax treaty.
We have not determined whether we are a United States real
property holding corporation for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. If we are or become a United States real
property holding corporation, so long as our common stock
continues to be regularly traded on an established securities
market, only a
non-U.S. holder
who holds or held (at any time during the shorter of the five
year period preceding the date of disposition or the
holders holding period) more than 5% of our common stock
will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the disposition of
our common stock.
U.S.
Federal Estate Tax
Common stock held by an individual
non-U.S. holder
at the time of death will be included in such holders
gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, unless an
applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
We must report annually to the Internal Revenue Service and to
each
non-U.S. holder
the amount of dividends paid to such holder and the tax withheld
with respect to such dividends, regardless of whether
withholding was required. Copies of the information returns
reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made
available to the tax authorities in the country in which the
non-U.S. holder
resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty.
A
non-U.S. holder
will be subject to backup withholding for dividends paid to such
holder unless such holder certifies under penalty of perjury
that it is a
non-U.S. holder
(and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know
that such holder is a United States person as defined under
the Code), or such holder otherwise establishes an exemption.
S-15
Information reporting and, depending on the circumstances,
backup withholding will apply to the proceeds of a sale of our
common stock within the United States or conducted through
certain
U.S.-related
financial intermediaries, unless the beneficial owner certifies
under penalty of perjury that it is a
non-U.S. holder
(and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know
that the beneficial owner is a United States person as defined
under the Code), or such owner otherwise establishes an
exemption.
Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be
allowed as a refund or a credit against a
non-U.S. holders
U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required
information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
Additional
Withholding Requirements
Under recently enacted legislation, the relevant withholding
agent may be required to withhold 30% of any dividends and the
proceeds of a sale of our common stock paid after
December 31, 2012 to (i) a foreign financial
institution unless such foreign financial institution agrees to
verify, report and disclose its U.S. accountholders and
meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a
non-financial foreign entity that is the beneficial owner of the
payment unless such entity certifies that it does not have any
substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and
taxpayer identification number of each substantial
U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified
requirements.
S-16
CERTAIN
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
Our common stock may be acquired by employee benefit plans that
are subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and by
individual retirement accounts or other plans, accounts or
arrangements that are subject to Section 4975 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code)
(each, an ERISA Plan). A fiduciary of an ERISA Plan
must determine that the purchase of our common stock is
consistent with its fiduciary duties under ERISA. The fiduciary
of an ERISA plan, as well as any other plan subject to
Section 4975 of the Code or any laws that are similar to
the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA or the Code
(Similar Laws), must also determine that its
purchase of our common stock does not result in a non-exempt
prohibited transaction as defined in Section 406 of ERISA
or Section 4975 of the Code or any applicable Similar Law.
Each purchaser which is acquiring our common stock with the
assets of an ERISA Plan or a plan, account or other arrangement
which is subject to Similar Law (each, a Plan, and
each Plan and ERISA Plan referred to herein a Plan
Investor) will be deemed to have represented by its
acquisition of our common stock that its acquisition of our
common stock does not constitute or give rise to a non-exempt
prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or
Section 4975 of the Code or to a violation of any
applicable Similar Law. The sale of common stock to any Plan
Investor is in no respect a representation by us or any of our
affiliates or representatives that such an investment meets all
relevant legal requirements with respect to investments by Plan
Investors generally or any particular Plan Investor, or that
such an investment is appropriate for Plan Investors generally
or any particular Plan Investor.
The foregoing discussion is general in nature and is not
intended to be all inclusive. Due to the complexity of these
rules and the penalties that may be imposed upon persons
involved in non-exempt prohibited transactions, it is
particularly important that fiduciaries, or other persons
considering purchasing our common stock on behalf of, or with
the assets of, any Plan Investor, consult with their counsel
regarding the potential applicability of ERISA,
Section 4975 of the Code and any Similar Laws to such
investment and whether an exemption would be applicable to the
purchase of our common stock.
S-17
UNDERWRITING
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an
underwriting agreement dated April 11, 2011, we have agreed
to sell to the underwriters named below, for whom Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC are acting as representatives, the
following respective numbers of shares of common stock:
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Number of
|
Underwriter
|
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Shares
|
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Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith
Incorporated
|
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16,000,000
|
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Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
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16,000,000
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Barclays Capital Inc.
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3,800,000
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Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated
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4,800,000
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
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4,800,000
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Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
|
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3,680,000
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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
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3,680,000
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UBS Securities LLC
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3,680,000
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Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
|
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2,080,000
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Goldman, Sachs & Co.
|
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2,080,000
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The Williams Capital Group, L.P.
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2,080,000
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Santander Investment Securities Inc.
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2,000,000
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Scotia Capital (USA) Inc.
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1,920,000
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Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc.
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1,840,000
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RBS Securities Inc.
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1,760,000
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BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
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1,600,000
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Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc.
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1,440,000
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Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
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1,120,000
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PNC Capital Markets LLC
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1,000,000
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BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC
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960,000
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KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.
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960,000
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RBC Capital Markets, LLC
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960,000
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SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc
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960,000
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Piper Jaffray & Co.
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800,000
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Total
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80,000,000
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The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are
obligated to purchase all the shares of common stock in the
offering if any are purchased, other than those shares covered
by the over-allotment option described below. The underwriting
agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults the
purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may be
increased or the offering may be terminated.
We have granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase
on a pro rata basis up to 12,000,000 additional shares from
us at the initial public offering price less the underwriting
discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to
cover any over-allotments of common stock.
Concurrently with this offering of common stock, we are
offering, by means of a separate prospectus supplement,
17,000,000 equity units (or 19,550,000 equity units if
the underwriters of that offering exercise in full their
over-allotment
option). This offering of common stock is not contingent on the
offering of equity units and the offering of equity units is not
contingent upon this offering of common stock.
S-18
The underwriters propose to offer the shares of common stock
initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this
prospectus supplement and to selling group members at that price
less a selling concession of $0.45540 per share. After the
initial public offering the underwriters may change the public
offering price and concession.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated
expenses we will pay:
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Without
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With
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Over-allotment
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Over-allotment
|
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Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us
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$
|
60,720,000
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$
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69,828,000
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Expenses payable by us
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$
|
1,000,000
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$
|
1,000,000
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We have agreed that, without the prior written consent of
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
(BofA Merrill Lynch) and Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC (Credit Suisse), on behalf of the
underwriters, we will not, during the period ending 90 days
after the date of this prospectus supplement, directly or
indirectly, (i) register, offer, issue, pledge, sell,
contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase,
purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right
or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose
of, directly or indirectly, any equity units, purchase contracts
or shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for equity units, purchase contracts
or common stock (collectively, the
Lock-Up
Securities), or (ii) enter into any swap or other
arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any
of the economic consequences of ownership of the
Lock-Up
Securities, (iii) establish or increase a put equivalent
position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position in
Lock-Up
Securities within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange
Act or (iv) file with the Commission a registration
statement under the Act relating to securities, or publicly
disclose the intention to take any such action, whether any such
transaction described in clause (i), (ii) or
(iii) above is to be settled by delivery of
Lock-Up
Securities or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The
foregoing restrictions shall not apply to (a) the equity
units or purchase contracts to be issued in the transactions
contemplated in the prospectus supplement related thereto (see
Concurrent Equity Units Offering) (b) the
issuance by us of shares of common stock pursuant to, or the
grant of options under our existing stock option, employee
benefit or dividend reinvestment plans, or the filing of a
registration statement with the Commission relating to the
offering of any shares of common stock issued or reserved for
issuance under such plans, or (c) the establishment of a trading
plan pursuant to Rule
10b5-1 under
the Exchange Act for the repurchase of common stock, provided
that such plan does not provide for repurchases during the
restricted period. However, in the event that either (1) during
the last 17 days of the restricted period, we release earnings
results or material news or a material event relating to us
occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the restricted period,
we announce that we will release earnings results during the
16-day period beginning on the last day of the restricted
period, then in either case the expiration of the restricted
period will be extended until the expiration of the 18-day
period beginning on the date of the release of the earnings
results or the occurrence of the material news or event, as
applicable, unless BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse waive,
in writing, such an extension.
Our officers and directors have agreed that they will not,
during the period ending 90 days after the date of this
prospectus supplement, directly or indirectly, (i) offer,
pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to
purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any
option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise
transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of
common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable
or exchangeable for common stock or make any public announcement
of an intention thereof or (ii) enter into any swap or
other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in
part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the
common stock, whether any such transaction described in
(i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of
common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or
make any public announcement of an intention thereof. The
foregoing restrictions shall not apply to transactions relating
to shares of common stock or other securities acquired in open
market transactions after the completion of the public offering.
In addition, such officers and directors have agreed that,
without the prior written consent of BofA Merrill Lynch and
Credit Suisse, on behalf of the underwriters, they will not,
during such period make any demand for or exercise any right
with respect to, the registration of any shares of common stock
or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable
for common stock. However, in the event that either (1) during
the last 17 days of the restricted period, we release earnings
results or material news or a material event relating to us
occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the restricted period,
we announce that we will release earnings results during the
16-day period
S-19
beginning on the last day of the restricted period, then in
either case the expiration of the restricted period will be
extended until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on
the date of the release of the earnings results or the
occurrence of the material news or event, as applicable, unless
BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse waive, in writing, such an
extension.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against liabilities
under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the
underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol PPL.
In connection with the offering the underwriters may engage in
stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate
covering transactions, and penalty bids.
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Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying
security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a
specified maximum.
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Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of shares in
excess of the number of shares the underwriters are obligated to
purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short
position may be either a covered short position or a naked short
position. In a covered short position, the number of shares
over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number
of shares that they may purchase in the over-allotment option.
In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is
greater than the number of shares in the over-allotment option.
The underwriters may close out any covered short position by
either exercising their over-allotment option
and/or
purchasing shares in the open market.
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Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the common
stock in the open market after the distribution has been
completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In
determining the source of shares to close out the short
position, the underwriters will consider, among other things,
the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as
compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through
the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more shares
than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked
short position, the position can only be closed out by buying
shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely
to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could
be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open
market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who
purchase in the offering.
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Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling
concession from a syndicate member when the common stock
originally sold by the syndicate member is purchased in a
stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate
short positions.
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These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions
and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining
the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding
a decline in the market price of the common stock. As a result
the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that
might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may
be effected on The New York Stock Exchange or otherwise and, if
commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the
web sites maintained by one or more of the underwriters, or
selling group members, if any, participating in this offering
and one or more of the underwriters participating in this
offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The
representatives may agree to allocate a number of shares to
underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online
brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be
allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that
will make internet distributions on the same basis as other
allocations.
Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have
from time to time in the past and may in the future perform
various financial advisory, investment banking and other
services for us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of
business, for which they received and may receive customary fees
and expenses. In particular, affiliates of each of the
representatives and other underwriters are lenders and/or agents
under our credit facilities and our Bridge Facility. Also see
Conflicts of Interest.
S-20
Notice to
Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area
which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a
Relevant Member State), including each Relevant
Member State that has implemented the 2010 PD Amending Directive
with regard to persons to whom an offer of securities is
addressed and the denomination per unit of the offer of
securities (each, an Early Implementing Member
State), with effect from and including the date on which
the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member
State (the Relevant Implementation Date), no offer
of shares will be made to the public in that Relevant Member
State (other than offers (the Permitted Public
Offers) where a prospectus will be published in relation
to the shares that has been approved by the competent authority
in a Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in
another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent
authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with
the Prospectus Directive), except that with effect from and
including that Relevant Implementation Date, offers of shares
may be made to the public in that Relevant Member State at any
time:
A. to qualified investors as defined in the
Prospectus Directive, including:
(a) (in the case of Relevant Member States other than Early
Implementing Member States), legal entities which are authorized
or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so
authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to
invest in securities, or any legal entity which has two or more
of (i) an average of at least 250 employees during the
last financial year; (ii) a total balance sheet of more
than 43.0 million and (iii) an annual turnover
of more than 50.0 million as shown in its last annual
or consolidated accounts; or
(b) (in the case of Early Implementing Member States),
persons or entities that are described in points (1) to
(4) of Section I of Annex II to Directive
2004/39/EC, and those who are treated on request as professional
clients in accordance with Annex II to Directive
2004/39/EC, or recognized as eligible counterparties in
accordance with Article 24 of Directive 2004/39/EC unless
they have requested that they be treated as non-professional
clients; or
B. to fewer than 100 (or, in the case of Early Implementing
Member States, 150) natural or legal persons (other than
qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus
Directive), as permitted in the Prospectus Directive, subject to
obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such
offer; or
C. in any other circumstances falling within
Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no
such offer of shares shall result in a requirement for the
publication of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the
Prospectus Directive or of a supplement to a prospectus pursuant
to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
Each person in a Relevant Member State (other than a Relevant
Member State where there is a Permitted Public Offer) who
initially acquires any shares or to whom any offer is made will
be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that
(A) it is a qualified investor, and (B) in
the case of any shares acquired by it as a financial
intermediary, as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the
Prospectus Directive, the shares acquired by it in the offering
have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired
with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant
Member State other than qualified investors as
defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in
which the prior consent of the Subscribers has been given to the
offer or resale. In the case of any shares being offered to a
financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 3(2)
of the Prospectus Directive, each such financial intermediary
will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that
the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on
a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been
acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in
circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any shares to
the public other than their offer or resale in a Relevant Member
State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances
in which the prior consent of the representatives has been
obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
For the purpose of the above provisions, the expression an
offer to the public in relation to any shares in any
Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by
any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer of
any shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide
to purchase any shares, as the same may be varied in the
Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus
Directive in the Relevant Member State and the expression
Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC
(including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, in the case of Early
Implementing Member States) and includes any relevant
implementing
S-21
measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression
2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive
2010/73/EU.
Notice to
Investors in the United Kingdom
Each of the underwriters severally represents, warrants and
agrees as follows:
(a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated
and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an
invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity
(within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) to persons who
have professional experience in matters relating to investments
falling with Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or in
circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to
the company; and
(b) it has complied with, and will comply with all
applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by
it in relation to the common stock in, from or otherwise
involving the United Kingdom.
Notice to
Prospective Investors in Switzerland
This document as well as any other material relating to the
common stock which are the subject of the offering contemplated
by this prospectus supplement does not constitute an issue
prospectus pursuant to Articles 652a
and/or 1156
of the Swiss Code of Obligations. The common stock will not be
listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and, therefore, the documents
relating to the common stock, including, but not limited to,
this document, do not claim to comply with the disclosure
standards of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange and
corresponding prospectus schemes annexed to the listing rules of
the SIX Swiss Exchange. The common stock are being offered in
Switzerland by way of a private placement, i.e. to a small
number of selected investors only, without any public offer and
only to investors who do not purchase the common stock with the
intention to distribute them to the public. The investors will
be individually approached by the Issuer from time to time. This
document as well as any other material relating to the common
stock is personal and confidential and does not constitute an
offer to any other person. This document may only be used by
those investors to whom it has been handed out in connection
with the offering described herein and may neither directly nor
indirectly be distributed or made available to other persons
without express consent of the Issuer. It may not be used in
connection with any other offer and shall in particular not be
copied
and/or
distributed to the public in (or from) Switzerland.
Notice to
Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial
Centre
This prospectus supplement relates to an Exempt Offer in
accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai
Financial Services Authority (DFSA). This prospectus
supplement is intended for distribution only to persons of a
type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It
must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The
DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any
documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not
approved this prospectus supplement nor taken steps to verify
the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for
the prospectus supplement. The shares to which this prospectus
supplement relates may be illiquid
and/or
subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers
of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on
the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this
prospectus supplement you should consult an authorized financial
advisor.
S-22
CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST
Affiliates of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are lenders
under the Bridge Facility and will receive more than five
percent of the net proceeds of this offering. Thus, Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated have a conflict of
interest as defined in Rule 5121 of the Conduct Rules
of FINRA. Accordingly, this offering will be made in compliance
with the applicable provisions of Rule 5121 of the Conduct
Rules. The appointment of a qualified independent
underwriter is not required in connection with this
offering, as a bona fide public market, as defined
in Rule 5121, exists for our shares of common stock. Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated will not confirm sales of
the common stock to discretionary accounts without the prior
written consent of the account holder.
S-23
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements and schedule of PPL
Corporation appearing in PPL Corporations Annual Report
(Form 10-K)
for the year ended December 31, 2010 and the effectiveness
of PPL Corporations internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2010 have been audited by
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public
accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included
therein, and incorporated herein by reference which, as to the
year 2010, is based in part on the report of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants. Such
consolidated financial statements have been incorporated herein
by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the
authority of such firms as experts in accounting and auditing.
The audited historical financial statements of E.ON U.S. LLC
included in PPL Corporations Current Report on Form
8-K dated
June 21, 2010 have been so incorporated in reliance on the
report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants,
given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and
accounting.
The audited historical financial statements of Central Networks
included in PPL Corporations Current Report on Form 8-K
dated April 11, 2011 have been so incorporated in reliance
on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent
accountants, given on the authority of said firm as experts in
auditing and accounting.
LEGAL
MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be
passed upon for PPL Corporation by Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett LLP, New York, New York, and Frederick C.
Paine, Esq., Senior Counsel of PPL Services Corporation.
Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be
passed upon for the underwriters by Davis Polk &
Wardwell LLP, New York, New York. Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP will rely
on the opinion of Mr. Paine as to matters involving the law
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As to matters involving the
law of the State of New York, Mr. Paine will rely on the
opinion of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
S-24
PROSPECTUS
PPL Corporation
PPL Capital Funding,
Inc.
PPL Energy Supply,
LLC
PPL Electric Utilities
Corporation
Two North Ninth Street
Allentown, Pennsylvania
18101-1179
(610) 774-5151
PPL Corporation
Common Stock, Preferred
Stock,
Stock Purchase Contracts, Stock
Purchase Units and Depositary Shares
PPL Capital Funding,
Inc.
Debt Securities and
Subordinated Debt Securities
Guaranteed by PPL Corporation
as described
in a supplement to this
prospectus
PPL Energy Supply,
LLC
Debt Securities, Subordinated
Debt Securities and Preferred Securities
PPL Electric Utilities
Corporation
Preferred Stock, Preference
Stock, Depositary Shares and Debt Securities
We will provide the specific terms of these securities in
supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus
and the supplements carefully before you invest.
We may offer the securities directly or through underwriters or
agents. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the
terms of any particular plan of distribution.
Investing in the securities involves certain risks. See
Risk Factors on page 3.
PPL Corporations common stock is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol PPL.
These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the
Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities
commission, nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission or
any state securities commission determined that this prospectus
is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a
criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is March 25, 2009.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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10
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10
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ABOUT
THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that PPL
Corporation, PPL Capital Funding, Inc. (PPL Capital
Funding), PPL Energy Supply, LLC (PPL Energy
Supply) and PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (PPL
Electric) have each filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, or SEC, using the shelf registration
process. Under this shelf process, we may, from time to time,
sell combinations of the securities described in this prospectus
in one or more offerings. Each time we sell securities, we will
provide a prospectus supplement that will contain a description
of the securities we will offer and specific information about
the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also
add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus
supplement together with additional information described under
Where You Can Find More Information.
We may use this prospectus to offer from time to time:
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shares of PPL Corporation Common Stock, par value $.01 per share
(PPL Common Stock);
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shares of PPL Corporation Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per
share (PPL Preferred Stock);
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contracts or other rights to purchase shares of PPL Common Stock
or PPL Preferred Stock (PPL Stock Purchase
Contracts);
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stock purchase units, each representing (1) a PPL Stock
Purchase Contract and (2) debt securities or preferred
trust securities of third parties (such as debt securities or
subordinated debt securities of PPL Capital Funding, preferred
trust securities of a subsidiary trust or United States Treasury
securities) that are pledged to secure the stock purchase unit
holders obligations to purchase PPL Common Stock or PPL
Preferred Stock under the PPL Stock Purchase Contracts
(PPL Stock Purchase Units);
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PPL Corporations Depositary Shares, issued under a deposit
agreement and representing a fractional interest in PPL
Preferred Stock;
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PPL Capital Fundings unsecured and unsubordinated debt
securities (PPL Capital Funding Debt Securities);
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PPL Capital Fundings unsecured and subordinated debt
securities (PPL Capital Funding Subordinated Debt
Securities);
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PPL Energy Supplys unsecured and unsubordinated debt
securities;
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PPL Energy Supplys unsecured and subordinated debt
securities;
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PPL Energy Supplys preferred limited liability company
membership interests;
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PPL Electrics Series Preferred Stock (PPL
Electric Preferred Stock);
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PPL Electrics Preference Stock (PPL Electric
Preference Stock);
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PPL Electrics Depositary Shares, issued under a deposit
agreement and representing a fractional interest in PPL Electric
Preferred Stock or PPL Electric Preference Stock; and
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PPL Electrics senior secured debt securities issued under
PPL Electrics 2001 indenture, as amended (PPL
Electric Secured Debt Securities), which will be secured
by the lien of the 2001 indenture on PPL Electrics
electric distribution and certain transmission properties
(subject to certain exceptions to be described in a prospectus
supplement).
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We sometimes refer to the securities listed above collectively
as the Securities.
PPL Corporation will fully and unconditionally guarantee the
payment of principal, premium and interest on the PPL Capital
Funding Debt Securities and PPL Capital Funding Subordinated
Debt Securities as will be described in supplements to this
prospectus. We sometimes refer to PPL Corporations
guarantees of PPL Capital Funding Debt Securities as PPL
Guarantees and PPL Corporations guarantees of PPL
Capital Funding Subordinated Debt Securities as the PPL
Subordinated Guarantees.
2
Information contained herein relating to each registrant is
filed separately by such registrant on its own behalf. No
registrant makes any representation as to information relating
to any other registrant or Securities or guarantees issued by
any other registrant, except that information relating to PPL
Capital Fundings Securities is also attributed to PPL
Corporation.
As used in this prospectus, the terms we,
our and us generally refer to:
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PPL Corporation with respect to Securities, PPL Guarantees or
PPL Subordinated Guarantees issued by PPL Corporation or PPL
Capital Funding;
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PPL Energy Supply with respect to Securities issued by PPL
Energy Supply; and
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PPL Electric, with respect to Securities issued by PPL Electric.
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For more detailed information about the Securities, the PPL
Guarantees and the PPL Subordinated Guarantees, you can read the
exhibits to the registration statement. Those exhibits have been
either filed with the registration statement or incorporated by
reference to earlier SEC filings listed in the registration
statement.
RISK
FACTORS
Investing in the Securities involves certain risks. You are
urged to read and consider the risk factors relating to an
investment in the Securities described in the Annual Reports on
Form 10-K
of PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric, as
applicable, for the year ended December 31, 2008, filed
with the SEC on February 27, 2009 and incorporated by
reference in this prospectus. Before making an investment
decision, you should carefully consider these risks as well as
other information we include or incorporate by reference in this
prospectus. The risks and uncertainties we have described are
not the only ones affecting PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply
and PPL Electric. The prospectus supplement applicable to each
type or series of Securities we offer may contain a discussion
of additional risks applicable to an investment in us and the
particular type of Securities we are offering under that
prospectus supplement.
FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus, including statements concerning expectations,
beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or
performance and underlying assumptions and other statements
which are other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
federal securities laws. Although we believe that the
expectations and assumptions reflected in these statements are
reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations
will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results
may differ materially from the results discussed in the
forward-looking statements. In addition to the specific factors
discussed in the Risk Factors section in this
prospectus and our reports that are incorporated by reference,
the following are among the important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements:
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fuel supply availability;
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weather conditions affecting generation production, customer
energy use and operating costs;
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operation, availability and operating costs of existing
generation facilities;
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transmission and distribution system conditions and operating
costs;
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collective labor bargaining negotiations;
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the outcome of litigation against us;
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potential effects of threatened or actual terrorism or war or
other hostilities
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our commitments and liabilities;
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market demand and prices for energy, capacity, emission
allowances and delivered fuel;
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competition in retail and wholesale power markets;
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liquidity of wholesale power markets;
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defaults by our counterparties under our energy, fuel or other
power product contracts;
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market prices of commodity inputs for ongoing capital
expenditures;
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capital market conditions, including the availability of capital
or credit, changes in interest rates, and decisions regarding
capital structure;
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stock price performance of PPL Corporation;
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the fair value of debt and equity securities and the impact on
defined benefit costs and resultant cash funding requirements
for defined benefit plans;
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interest rates and their affect on pension, retiree medical and
nuclear decommissioning liabilities;
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the impact of the current financial and economic downturn;
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volatility in financial or commodity markets;
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profitability and liquidity, including access to capital markets
and credit facilities;
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new accounting requirements or new interpretations or
applications of existing requirements;
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securities and credit ratings;
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foreign currency exchange rates;
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current and future environmental conditions and requirements and
the related costs of compliance, including environmental capital
expenditures, emission allowance costs and other expenses;
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political, regulatory or economic conditions in states, regions
or countries where we conduct business;
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receipt of necessary governmental permits, approvals and rate
relief;
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new state, federal or foreign legislation, including new tax
legislation;
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state, federal and foreign regulatory developments;
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the impact of any state, federal or foreign investigations
applicable to us and the energy industry;
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the effect of any business or industry restructuring;
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development of new projects, markets and technologies;
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performance of new ventures; and
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asset acquisitions and dispositions.
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Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in
light of such important factors and in conjunction with other
documents we file with the SEC.
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in forward-looking statements emerge from
time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of
such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or
combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from
those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which
such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update
the information contained in such statement to reflect
subsequent developments or information.
4
PPL
CORPORATION
PPL Corporation, incorporated in 1994 and headquartered in
Allentown, Pennsylvania, is an energy and utility holding
company. Through its subsidiaries, PPL Corporation generates
electricity from power plants in the northeastern and western
United States; markets wholesale or retail energy primarily in
the northeastern and western portions of the United States and
delivers electricity to approximately 4 million customers
in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom.
PPL Corporations principal subsidiaries are shown below:
Energy
Supply
PPL Corporation, through its indirect, wholly owned
subsidiaries, PPL Generation, LLC (PPL Generation)
and PPL EnergyPlus, LLC (PPL EnergyPlus) owns and
operates electricity generating power plants and markets this
electricity and other purchased power to deregulated wholesale
and retail markets. Both of these subsidiaries are direct,
wholly owned subsidiaries of PPL Energy Supply. As of
December 31, 2008, PPL Corporation owned or controlled,
through its subsidiaries, 12,002 megawatts, or MW, of electric
power generation capacity and has plans to implement capital
projects primarily at certain of its existing generation
facilities in Pennsylvania and Montana to provide 148 MW of
additional capacity by 2013. See PPL Energy Supply,
LLC below for more information.
Energy
Delivery
PPL Corporation provides energy delivery services in its service
territory in Pennsylvania through its regulated public utility
subsidiary, PPL Electric, and in the United Kingdom through its
subsidiary, PPL Global. PPL Electric delivers electricity to
approximately 1.4 million customers in eastern and central
Pennsylvania. See PPL Electric Utilities Corporation
below for more information. Through its subsidiaries, PPL Global
delivers electricity to approximately 2.6 million customers
in the United Kingdom. PPL Global is a wholly owned subsidiary
of PPL Energy Supply, LLC. See PPL Energy Supply,
LLC below for more information.
PPL Corporations subsidiaries, including PPL Energy Supply
and PPL Electric, are separate legal entities, and are not
liable for the debts of PPL Corporation, and PPL Corporation is
not liable for the debts of its subsidiaries (other than under
the PPL Guarantees of PPL Capital Funding Debt Securities and
PPL Subordinated Guarantees of PPL Capital Funding Subordinated
Debt Securities). Neither PPL Energy Supply nor PPL Electric
will guarantee or provide other credit or funding support for
the Securities to be offered by PPL Corporation pursuant to this
prospectus.
5
PPL
CAPITAL FUNDING, INC.
PPL Capital Funding is a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned
subsidiary of PPL Corporation. PPL Capital Fundings
primary business is to provide PPL Corporation with financing
for its operations. PPL Corporation will fully and
unconditionally guarantee the payment of principal, premium and
interest on the PPL Capital Funding Debt Securities pursuant to
the PPL Guarantees and the PPL Capital Funding Subordinated Debt
Securities pursuant to the PPL Subordinated Guarantees, as will
be described in supplements to this prospectus.
PPL
ENERGY SUPPLY, LLC
PPL Energy Supply, formed in 2000 and headquartered in
Allentown, Pennsylvania, is an energy company engaged, through
its subsidiaries, in the generation and marketing of power in
the northeastern and western power markets of the United States
and in the delivery of electricity in the United Kingdom. PPL
Energy Supplys major operating subsidiaries are PPL
Generation, PPL EnergyPlus and PPL Global. PPL Energy Supply is
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Corporation. See
PPL Corporation above for more information.
Energy
Supply: PPL Generation and PPL EnergyPlus
As of December 31, 2008, PPL Energy Supply owned or
controlled, through its subsidiaries, 12,002 MW of electric
power generation capacity. PPL Generation subsidiaries own and
operate power plants in Pennsylvania, Montana, Illinois,
Connecticut, New York and Maine. PPL Energy Supplys
generating capacity includes power obtained through PPL
EnergyPlus tolling or power purchase agreements. In
addition, PPL Generation has current plans to implement capital
projects at certain of its existing generation facilities
primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana to provide 148 MW of
additional generating capacity by 2013. PPL Generations
plants are fueled by uranium, coal, natural gas, oil and water.
The electricity from these plants is sold to PPL EnergyPlus
under FERC-jurisdictional power purchase agreements.
PPL EnergyPlus markets or brokers the electricity produced by
PPL Generations subsidiaries, along with purchased power,
financial transmission rights, natural gas, oil, emission
allowances and renewable energy credits in competitive wholesale
and deregulated retail markets. PPL EnergyPlus also provides
energy-related products and services, such as engineering and
mechanical contracting, construction and maintenance services,
to commercial and industrial customers.
International
Energy Delivery: PPL Global
PPL Energy Supply provides electricity delivery services in the
United Kingdom through its PPL Global subsidiary, which owns
Western Power Distribution Holdings Limited and WPD Investment
Holdings Limited, which together we refer to as WPD. WPD
operates two electric distribution companies in the United
Kingdom, serving a total of approximately 2.6 million
customers.
Neither PPL Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates will guarantee or provide other credit or funding
support for the securities to be offered by PPL Energy Supply
pursuant to this prospectus.
PPL
ELECTRIC UTILITIES CORPORATION
PPL Electric, incorporated in 1920 and headquartered in
Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a direct subsidiary of PPL
Corporation and a regulated public utility. PPL Electric
delivers electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers
in eastern and central Pennsylvania. PPL Electric also provides
electricity supply as a provider of last resort, or
PLR, to retail customers in that territory that do
not choose an alternative electricity provider.
Neither PPL Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates will guarantee or provide other credit or funding
support for the securities to be offered by PPL Electric
pursuant to this prospectus.
6
The offices of PPL Corporation, PPL Capital Funding, PPL Energy
Supply and PPL Electric are located at Two North Ninth Street,
Allentown, Pennsylvania
18101-1179,
and they can be contacted through telephone number
(610) 774-5151.
The information above concerning PPL Corporation, PPL
Capital Funding, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric and, if
applicable, their respective subsidiaries is only a summary and
does not purport to be comprehensive. For additional information
about these companies, including certain assumptions, risks and
uncertainties involved in the forward-looking statements
contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, you
should refer to the information described in Where You Can
Find More Information.
USE OF
PROCEEDS
Except as otherwise described in a prospectus supplement, the
net proceeds from the sale of the PPL Capital Funding Debt
Securities and the PPL Capital Funding Subordinated Debt
Securities will be loaned to PPL Corporation
and/or its
subsidiaries. PPL Corporation
and/or its
subsidiaries are expected to use the proceeds of such loans, and
the proceeds of the other Securities issued by PPL Corporation,
for general corporate purposes, including repayment of debt.
Except as otherwise described in a prospectus supplement, each
of PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric is expected to use the
proceeds of the Securities it issues for general corporate
purposes, including repayment of debt.
RATIOS OF
EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND EARNINGS TO COMBINED FIXED
CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS
PPL
Corporation
The following table sets forth PPL Corporations ratio of
earnings to fixed charges and ratio of earnings to combined
fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the periods
indicated:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Twelve Months
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|
|
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
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|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges and ratio of earnings to
combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends(a)
|
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3.3
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|
|
3.0
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|
|
2.9
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|
|
|
2.4
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|
|
2.5
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|
|
|
|
(a) |
|
In calculating the earnings component, earnings exclude income
taxes, minority interest, dividends on preferred securities of a
subsidiary, discontinued operations and the cumulative effects
of changes in accounting principles. See PPL Corporations
reports on file with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), as
described under Where You Can Find More Information
for more information. PPL Corporation had no preferred
securities outstanding during the periods indicated; therefore,
the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred
stock dividends is the same as the ratio of earnings to fixed
charges. |
PPL
Energy Supply
The following table sets forth PPL Energy Supplys ratio of
earnings to fixed charges and ratio of earnings to combined
fixed charges and preferred securities dividends for the periods
indicated:
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|
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|
|
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|
Twelve Months
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|
|
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges and ratio of earnings to
combined fixed charges and preferred securities dividends(a)
|
|
|
3.7
|
|
|
|
3.7
|
|
|
|
3.5
|
|
|
|
3.0
|
|
|
|
3.9
|
|
|
|
|
(a) |
|
In calculating the earnings component, earnings exclude income
taxes, minority interest, discontinued operations and the
cumulative effects of changes in accounting principles. See PPL
Energy Supplys reports |
7
|
|
|
|
|
on file with the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act as described
under Where You Can Find More Information for more
information. PPL Energy Supply had no preferred securities
outstanding during the periods indicated; therefore, the ratio
of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred securities
dividends is the same as the ratio of earnings to fixed charges. |
PPL
Electric
The following table sets forth PPL Electrics ratio of
earnings to fixed charges and ratio of earnings to combined
fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the periods
indicated:
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|
|
|
Twelve Months
|
|
|
|
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges(a)
|
|
|
3.4
|
|
|
|
2.7
|
|
|
|
2.9
|
|
|
|
2.1
|
|
|
|
1.4
|
|
Ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock
dividends(a)
|
|
|
2.7
|
|
|
|
2.3
|
|
|
|
2.5
|
|
|
|
2.1
|
|
|
|
1.4
|
|
|
|
|
(a) |
|
In calculating the earnings component, earnings reflect income
before income taxes. See PPL Electrics reports on file
with the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act as described under
Where You Can Find More Information for more
information. |
WHERE YOU
CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
Available
Information
PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric each file
reports and other information with the SEC. You may obtain
copies of this information by mail from the Public Reference
Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580,
Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates. Further
information on the operation of the SECs Public Reference
Room in Washington, D.C. can be obtained by calling the SEC
at
1-800-SEC-0330.
PPL Corporations Internet Web site is www.pplweb.com. On
the Investor Center page of that Web site PPL Corporation
provides access to all SEC filings of PPL Corporation, PPL
Energy Supply and PPL Electric free of charge, as soon as
reasonably practicable after filing with the SEC. The
information at PPL Corporations Internet Web site is not
incorporated in this prospectus by reference, and you should not
consider it a part of this prospectus. Additionally, PPL
Corporations, PPL Energy Supplys and PPL
Electrics filings are available at the SECs Internet
Web site (www.sec.gov).
PPL Corporation Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) (symbol: PPL), and reports, proxy
statements and other information concerning PPL Corporation can
also be inspected at the offices of the NYSE at 20 Broad
Street, New York, New York 10005.
Certain securities of PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric are
also listed on the NYSE and certain information concerning PPL
Energy Supply and PPL Electric may be inspected at the NYSE
offices in New York.
In addition, reports, proxy statements and other information
concerning PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric
can be inspected at their offices at Two North Ninth Street,
Allentown, Pennsylvania
18101-1179.
Incorporation
by Reference
Each of PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric will
incorporate by reference information into this
prospectus by disclosing important information to you by
referring you to another document that it files separately with
the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to
be part of this prospectus, and later information that we file
with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that
information. This prospectus incorporates by reference the
documents set forth below that have been previously filed with
the SEC. These documents contain important information about the
registrants.
8
PPL
Corporation
|
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SEC Filings (File No. 1-11459)
|
|
Period/Date
|
|
Annual Report on
Form 10-K
|
|
Year ended December 31, 2008
|
Current Reports on
Form 8-K
|
|
Filed on January 12, 2009, January 28, 2009, February 18, 2009,
February 24, 2009, March 4, 2009 and March 17, 2009
|
PPL Corporations Registration Statement on
Form 8-B
|
|
Filed on April 27, 1995
|
PPL Corporations 2008 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy
Statement
|
|
Filed on March 18, 2008
|
PPL
Energy Supply
|
|
|
SEC Filings (File No. 1-32944)
|
|
Period/Date
|
|
Annual Report on
Form 10-K
|
|
Year ended December 31, 2008
|
Current Reports on
Form 8-K
|
|
Filed on February 18, 2009, February 24, 2009, March 4, 2009 and
March 17, 2009
|
PPL
Electric
|
|
|
SEC Filings (File No. 1-905)
|
|
Period/Date
|
|
Annual Report on
Form 10-K
|
|
Year ended December 31, 2008
|
Current Reports on
Form 8-K
|
|
Filed on January 28, 2009 and February 24, 2009
|
Additional documents that PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and
PPL Electric file with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, between the date of this
prospectus and the termination of the offering of the Securities
are also incorporated herein by reference. In addition, any
additional documents that PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply or
PPL Electric file with the SEC pursuant to these sections of the
Exchange Act after the date of the filing of the registration
statement containing this prospectus, and prior to the
effectiveness of the registration statement are also
incorporated herein by reference.
Each of PPL Corporation, PPL Energy Supply and PPL Electric will
provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial
owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus has been delivered, a
copy of any and all of its filings with the SEC. You may request
a copy of these filings by writing or telephoning the
appropriate registrant at:
Two North
Ninth Street
Allentown, Pennsylvania
18101-1179
Attention: Investor Services Department
Telephone:
1-800-345-3085
No separate financial statements of PPL Capital Funding are
included herein or incorporated herein by reference. PPL
Corporation and PPL Capital Funding do not consider those
financial statements to be material to holders of the PPL
Capital Funding Debt Securities or PPL Capital Funding
Subordinated Debt Securities because (1) PPL Capital
Funding is a wholly owned subsidiary that was formed for the
primary purpose of providing financing for PPL Corporation and
its subsidiaries, (2) PPL Capital Funding does not
currently engage in any independent operations and (3) PPL
Capital Funding does not currently plan to engage, in the
future, in more than minimal independent operations. See
PPL Capital Funding. PPL Capital Funding has
received a no action letter from the Staff of the
SEC stating that the Staff would not raise any objection if PPL
Capital Funding does not file periodic reports under
Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, PPL
Corporation and PPL Capital Funding do not expect PPL Capital
Funding to file those reports.
9
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of PPL Corporation, PPL
Energy Supply, LLC and PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (the
Companies) appearing in the Companies Annual
Reports
(Form 10-K)
for the year ended December 31, 2008 and the effectiveness
of PPL Corporations internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2008, have been audited by
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public
accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon included
therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such financial
statements have been incorporated herein by reference in
reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm
as experts in accounting and auditing.
VALIDITY
OF THE SECURITIES AND THE PPL GUARANTEES
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, New York, New York or Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York, New York and Michael
A. McGrail, Esq., Deputy General Counsel of PPL Services
Corporation, will pass upon the validity of the Securities, the
PPL Guarantees and the PPL Subordinated Guarantees for PPL
Corporation, PPL Capital Funding, PPL Energy Supply and PPL
Electric. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York,
will pass upon the validity of the Securities, the PPL
Guarantees and the PPL Subordinated Guarantees for any
underwriters or agents. Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sullivan &
Cromwell LLP will rely on the opinion of Mr. McGrail as to
matters involving the law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As to matters involving the law of the State of New York,
Mr. McGrail will rely on the opinion of Dewey &
LeBoeuf LLP or Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, as
applicable.
10