CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont
Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), has
successfully closed a $600 million
debt offering – its largest debt issuance in the history of the
company and its first since it merged with Duke Energy.
This transaction, which involved three disabled-veteran-owned
banks as co-underwriters to sell the notes, aligns with Duke
Energy's practice of routinely involving diversity-owned financial
institutions in its capital raising efforts. Over the past three
years, the company has worked with firms representing various
backgrounds, including women-owned, African American-owned,
disabled-veteran-owned and Hispanic-owned banks.
"Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering – from our
employees and leadership team to our suppliers, brokerage firms and
investors," said Steve Young, Duke
Energy's chief financial officer. "These partnerships enable us to
broaden our investor base and honor veterans while also accessing
low-cost capital to invest in important infrastructure for our
customers."
"We are proud to be a part of this historic transaction for
Piedmont Natural Gas," stated Ron
Quigley, managing director at Mischler Financial, one of the
disabled-veteran-owned banks participating in the transaction. "Not
only does this represent another successful collaborative effort
within the business community, it also carries more meaning to our
firm given the timing of Memorial Day and our commitment to donate
a portion of the proceeds from this transaction to causes that are
important to our veteran employees."
Piedmont priced the bonds on
May 21 and closed the transaction on
May 24. Net proceeds will be used to
retire a bank loan, repay other borrowings and other general
corporate purposes.
"Everyone benefits when we bring diverse thoughts, perspectives
and talents to the table," said Young. "Together, we have an
opportunity to foster more innovation, enhance outreach to
customers and investors and increase the business community's
commitment to collaborating with a wide variety of firms."
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., is one of the
largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000
people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts
through its regulated utilities and 3,000 megawatts through its
nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.
Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience,
modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and
expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy
future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric
Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve
approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states –
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities
and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6
million customers in five states – North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit
operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as
well as energy storage and microgrid projects.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2019 "World's Most Admired
Companies" list and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list.
More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.
The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact
sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's
illumination features stories about people, innovations,
community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Contact: Catherine Butler
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy