Southern Co. gets serious about smart grid: buys PowerSecure

While FPL wastes $3 billion on the 20th century Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, Southern Company (SO) shows it’s serious about distributed energy by buying distributed grid infrastructure company PowerSecure (POWR) for $431 million. That announcement not only bumped POWR stock up by about 75%, the same day (yesterday) smart grid company EnerNOC (ENOC) shares went up 20%. That last could be coincidental, since ENOC announced earnings. But with two smart grid companies going up, the renewable solar and wind energy future is coming closer.

PRNewswire, 24 February 2016, Southern Company to Acquire PowerSecure International, Inc.: Addition of PowerSecure’s proven expertise positions Southern Company to advance distributed infrastructure development,

ATLANTA and WAKE FOREST, N.C., Feb. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Southern Company (NYSE: SO) and PowerSecure International, Inc. (NYSE: POWR) today announced that the boards of directors of both companies have approved a definitive merger agreement through which Southern Company will acquire PowerSecure, with PowerSecure becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company.

Southern Company believes that the advancement of distributed infrastructure technologies — the very technologies in which PowerSecure specializes through its unique business model — helps meet customers’ future energy needs as part of the full portfolio of energy resources. These technologies typically receive highest demand largely in markets outside of the Southeast, where distributed infrastructure investments tend to provide greater customer value. Through this natural evolution of the companies’ current business models, the combined company would be particularly suited to address reliability concerns and promote technology advances with a focus on the future.

As Southern Company and PowerSecure prepare for tomorrow, the combination of one of America’s leading energy companies with a successful, customer-focused provider of differentiated energy solutions and innovative energy infrastructure is designed to expand Southern Company’s opportunities to provide customized energy products to customers.

“As energy technologies and customer expectations continue to evolve, the electric utility business model is increasingly expanding beyond the meter,” said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. “Today there is demand for distributed infrastructure solutions that best meet each customer’s unique energy needs. With the addition of PowerSecure to Southern Company, we’re extending our commitment to create America’s energy future by tapping into industry-leading expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions to energy consumers nationwide.”

By acquiring a premier provider of distributed generation, energy efficiency and utility infrastructure solutions, Southern Company will be positioned to accelerate the ongoing expansion of energy product offerings that are intended to provide customers greater control of their energy use and will add complementary technical depth in customer-located reliability and efficiency technologies.

“Southern Company has earned a reputation as one of America’s premier utilities by deploying its technical expertise and financial strength to best serve customers,” said Sidney Hinton, chief executive officer of PowerSecure. “These attributes, combined with Southern Company’s nationally recognized customer service, make Southern Company the ideal partner for PowerSecure to deliver even greater value to our customers. We are incredibly excited about the potential to accelerate and expand our business as part of Southern Company as we continue to serve our data center, hospital, utility and other customers.”

Under the terms of the agreement, PowerSecure’s stockholders will be entitled to receive $18.75 in cash for each share of PowerSecure common stock in a transaction with a purchase price of approximately $431 million.

After closing, the companies anticipate that PowerSecure’s operations, including its management team and corporate headquarters, will continue to be based in Wake Forest, N.C.

Completion of the transaction is conditioned upon, among other things, the approval of PowerSecure stockholders. The transaction is also subject to the notification and clearance and reporting requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The companies expect to complete the transaction by the end of the second quarter of 2016.

Jones Day, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Troutman Sanders LLP are serving as legal counsel to Southern Company. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to PowerSecure and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter are serving as legal counsel to PowerSecure.

There’s more background on the companies in the PR, including this:

About Southern Company

With more than 4.5 million customers and approximately 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing America’s energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit of customers. Southern Company has been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a 2014 Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company earned the 2014 National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear development, and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune’s annual World’s Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit www.southerncompany.com.

About PowerSecure

PowerSecure International, Inc. is a leading provider of utility and energy technologies to electric utilities, and their industrial, institutional and commercial customers. PowerSecure provides products and services in the areas of Interactive Distributed Generation ® (IDG®), solar energy, energy efficiency and utility infrastructure. The company is a pioneer in developing IDG® power systems with sophisticated smart grid capabilities, including the ability to 1) forecast electricity demand and electronically deploy the systems to deliver more efficient, and environmentally friendly, power at peak power times, 2) provide utilities with dedicated electric power generation capacity to utilize for demand response purposes and 3) provide customers with the most dependable standby power in the industry. Its proprietary distributed generation system designs utilize a range of technologies to deliver power, including renewables. The company’s energy efficiency products and services include energy efficient lighting solutions that utilize LED technologies to improve lighting quality, and the design, installation and maintenance of energy conservation measures which the company offers, primarily as a subcontractor, to large energy service company providers, called ESCOs, for the benefit of commercial, industrial and institutional customers as end users and directly to retailers. PowerSecure also provides electric utilities with transmission and distribution infrastructure maintenance and construction services, and engineering and regulatory consulting services. Additional information is available at www.powersecure.com.

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