Xcel’s “forward sale agreement”
August 5th, 2010
Xcel is trading a bunch of paper for a bunch of money, 21,850,000 pieces of paper to be precise. How much money is that? Seems to be $469,775,000, or $408,500,000, gross, or $396,245,000 net to Xcel, depending on what numbers you look at, or what they sell at!
What will they do with it? According to the prospectus, and an article written about it:
“Xcel Energy intends to use any net proceeds that it receives upon settlement of the forward sale agreement described above, or from the sale of any shares to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, to repay outstanding commercial paper and make capital contributions to its operating subsidiaries.”
Here’s an article from Marketwatch:
Doesn’t this have the feel that they’re desperate for cash flow? We know they can’t get their construction capital to build the Brookings transmission line, and they’re hot to trot both about PUC ordained rate recovery, which they did not get and their Motion for Reconsideration (PUC Docket 09-1048) went nowhere.
Here’s Seeking Alpha’s Xcel 2Q Earnings Call Transcript!
Seeking Alpha Xcel 2Q Earnings Call Question & Answer
And a choice answer snippet from the Q&A: