ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Fortis Inc. ("Fortis" or the "Corporation") (TSX:FTS) announced today that it has closed its public offering (the "Offering") of common shares (the "Common Shares") underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Fortis issued 9,100,000 Common Shares at a price of $33.00 per share for gross proceeds to the Corporation of $300,300,000. The underwriters also have the option to purchase up to an additional 1,365,000 Common Shares to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes, during the 30 days following the closing of the Offering (the "Over-Allotment Option"). If the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the Offering will result in gross proceeds to the Corporation of $345,345,000.
The net proceeds of the Offering will be used (i) to repay indebtedness outstanding under the Corporation's committed credit facility, (ii) to finance additional equity injections into the Corporation's western Canadian regulated utilities and the non-regulated Waneta Expansion Limited Partnership in support of infrastructure investment, and (iii) for general corporate purposes.
Fortis is the largest investor-owned distribution utility in Canada, with total assets of approximately $13 billion and fiscal 2010 revenue totalling approximately $3.7 billion. The Corporation serves approximately 2,100,000 gas and electricity customers. Its regulated holdings include electric distribution utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries and a natural gas utility in British Columbia, Canada. Fortis owns and operates non-regulated generation assets across Canada and in Belize and Upper New York State. It also owns hotels and commercial office and retail space primarily in Atlantic Canada.
The Common Shares, First Preference Shares, Series C, First Preference Shares, Series E, First Preference Shares, Series F, First Preference Shares, Series G and First Preference Shares, Series H of Fortis are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols FTS, FTS.PR.C, FTS.PR.E, FTS.PR.F, FTS.PR.G and FTS.PR.H, respectively. Fortis information can be accessed on the Corporation's website at www.fortisinc.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Fortis includes forward-looking information in this material within the meaning of applicable securities laws in Canada ("forward-looking information"). The purpose of the forward-looking information is to provide management's expectations regarding the Corporation's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. All forward-looking information is given pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "anticipates", "believes", "budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "may", "might", "plans", "projects", "schedule", "should", "will", "would" and similar expressions are often intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. The forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on assumptions developed using information currently available to the Corporation's management. Although Fortis believes that the forward-looking statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. For additional information on risk factors that have the potential to affect the Corporation, reference should be made to the Corporation's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and to the heading "Business Risk Management" in the Corporation's annual and quarterly Management Discussion and Analysis and the "Risk Factors" section of the Annual Information Form. Except as required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof.