NEW YORK, June 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is
investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other
violations of law by the Board of Directors of Westar Energy, Inc.
("WR" or the "Company") in connection with the proposed acquisition
of the Company by Great Plains Energy, Inc. ("GXP"). On
May 31, 2016, the Company announced
it had reached a definitive agreement for GXP to acquire all
outstanding shares of WR in a transaction valued at approximately
$12.2 billion, inclusive of
debt. Under the terms of the agreement, WR shareholders will
receive $51.00 in cash and
$9.00 in GXP common stock for each WR
share they own.
WeissLaw is investigating whether WR's Board acted to maximize
shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement.
Notably, the Company recently announced positive financial results
for the first quarter of 2016. On May
3, 2016, WR reported earnings of $66
million as compared with $51
million reported in the same period of the previous year,
representing an increase of approximately 30% year-over-year.
Additionally, WR is Kansas'
largest electric provider, servicing over 700,000; the acquisition
of WR will increase GXP's customer base to 1.5 million customers
and expand its territory. Finally, GXP announced that it
expected the transaction to be "significantly accretive" in the
years following the acquisition.
Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating whether WR's Board
acted in the best interests of WR's public shareholders to maximize
shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. If
you own WR shares and would like more information about your rights
or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us,
please contact Joshua Rubin by
telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at
stockinfo@weisslawllp.com.
WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and
derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary
duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for
defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance
relief in many of these cases. If you have information or
would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing
(including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting
fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud
(including false advertising, defective products, or other
deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please
email us at stockinfo@weisslawllp.com or fill out the form
on our website,
http://www.weisslawllp.com/contact/report_fraud/.
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SOURCE WeissLaw LLP