Duke Energy completes sale of international business in Brazil

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy today completed the previously announced sale of its international business in Brazil to China Three Gorges Corp. for approximately $1.2 billion enterprise value.

The company is exiting the Latin American market to focus on its domestic regulated business, which was further bolstered by the acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas.

Duke Energy announced the sale of its Brazil assets to China Three Gorges Corp. and the sale of its remaining Latin American assets - in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina - to I Squared Capital in Oct. 2016. The I Squared Capital sale was completed on Dec. 20, 2016.

"Today marks a significant milestone in the strategic transformation of our company," said Duke Energy chairman, president and CEO Lynn Good. "We completed these transactions ahead of schedule and are now fully focused on growing our regulated businesses in 2017 and beyond, including the natural gas platform."

The transactions with China Three Gorges Corp. and I Squared Capital are expected to generate available cash proceeds of approximately $1.9 billion, excluding transaction costs and subject to working capital adjustments, which will be used to reduce Duke Energy holding company debt. Existing federal tax attributes will result in no immediate U.S. tax impacts.

China Three Gorges Corp. is acquiring Duke Energy assets consisting of 10 hydroelectric generation plants – eight plants totaling 2,057 megawatts on the border between Sao Paulo and Parana states; and two plants totaling 33 megawatts on the Sapucai Mirim River in Sao Paulo state.

Duke Energy's 25 percent equity investment in National Methanol Company – a Saudi Arabian regional producer of methanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive – is not included in the sales to China Three Gorges Corp. and I Squared Capital.

Forward-Looking Information

This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and can often be identified by terms and phrases that include "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will," "potential," "forecast," "target," "guidance," "outlook" or other similar terminology. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different than the suggested outcomes within forward-looking statements; accordingly, there is no assurance that such results will be realized. These factors include, but are not limited to: state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements or climate change, as well as rulings that affect cost and investment recovery or have an impact on rate structures or market prices; the extent and timing of costs and liabilities to comply with federal and state laws, regulations and legal requirements related to coal ash remediation, including amounts for required closure of certain ash impoundments, are uncertain and difficult to estimate; the ability to recover eligible costs, including amounts associated with coal ash impoundment retirement obligations and costs related to significant weather events, and to earn an adequate return on investment through the regulatory process; the costs of decommissioning Crystal River Unit 3 and other nuclear facilities could prove to be more extensive than amounts estimated and all costs may not be fully recoverable through the regulatory process; credit ratings of the company or its subsidiaries may be different from what is expected; costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations and claims; industrial, commercial and residential growth or decline in service territories or customer bases resulting from variations in customer usage patterns, including energy efficiency efforts and use of alternative energy sources, including self-generation and distributed generation technologies; federal and state regulations, laws and other efforts designed to promote and expand the use of energy efficiency measures and distributed generation technologies, such as rooftop solar and battery storage, in Duke Energy service territories could result in customers leaving the electric distribution system, excess generation resources as well as stranded costs; advancements in technology; additional competition in electric markets and continued industry consolidation; the influence of weather and other natural phenomena on operations, including the economic, operational and other effects of severe storms, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes and tornadoes; the ability to successfully operate electric generating facilities and deliver electricity to customers including direct or indirect effects to the company resulting from an incident that affects the U.S. electric grid or generating resources; the ability to complete necessary or desirable pipeline expansion or infrastructure projects in our natural gas business; operational interruptions to our gas distribution and transmission activities; the impact on facilities and business from a terrorist attack, cybersecurity threats, data security breaches, and other catastrophic events such as fires, explosions, pandemic health events or other similar occurrences; the inherent risks associated with the operation and potential construction of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates and the ability to recover such costs through the regulatory process, where appropriate, and their impact on liquidity positions and the value of underlying assets; the results of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, interest rate fluctuations and general economic conditions; declines in the market prices of equity and fixed income securities and resultant cash funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans, other post-retirement benefit plans, and nuclear decommissioning trust funds; construction and development risks associated with the completion of Duke Energy and its subsidiaries' capital investment projects, including risks related to financing, obtaining and complying with terms of permits, meeting construction budgets and schedules, and satisfying operating and environmental performance standards, as well as the ability to recover costs from customers in a timely manner or at all; changes in rules for regional transmission organizations, including changes in rate designs and new and evolving capacity markets, and risks related to obligations created by the default of other participants; the ability to control operation and maintenance costs; the level of creditworthiness of counterparties to transactions; employee workforce factors, including the potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; the ability of subsidiaries to pay dividends or distributions to Duke Energy Corporation holding company (the Parent); the performance of projects undertaken by our nonregulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; the impact of potential goodwill impairments; the ability to successfully complete future merger, acquisition or divestiture plans; the ability to successfully integrate the natural gas businesses since the acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. and realize anticipated benefits and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect.

Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Duke Energy's and its subsidiaries' reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than described. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made; Duke Energy expressly disclaims an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power holding companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 7.4 million customers in the Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately 24 million people. The company also distributes natural gas to more than 1.5 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its commercial business operates a growing renewable energy portfolio and transmission infrastructure across the United States.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. 

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Media contact: Catherine Butler
800.559.3853

Analysts contact: Mike Callahan 
704.382.0459

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SOURCE Duke Energy