PG&E Engaged Diverse-Owned Banks for $2.7 Billion in Bond Sales in 2014

Financial Transactions Reflect PG&E's Commitment to Supplier Diversity

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Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

Dec 16, 2014, 01:30 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) employed 11 diverse-owned investment banks to help manage offerings of more than $2.7 billion in notes in 2014.

In the biggest deal ever led by a diverse underwriter for PG&E, Ramirez Securities acted as the lead underwriter on a $900 million bond offering this year. The transaction included five other diverse firms as co-managers: Loop Capital, Blaylock Beal Van, Lebenthal, MFR Securities, and Mischler Financial Group. The firms represent Hispanic-owned, African American-owned, woman-owned, and disabled veteran-owned segments of the investment banking market.

"We were proud to work with these firms to help finance our work to deliver safe, reliable, affordable and clean gas and electric service to our customers," said Kent Harvey, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PG&E Corporation. "This collaboration reflects PG&E's strong commitment to supporting economic development, job creation and diversity in the many communities we serve. Just as important, we view supplier diversity as a competitive business advantage that helps us provide the very best products and services for our customers."

Ron Quigley, managing director of Mischler Financial Group, the nation's oldest service disabled veteran business enterprise of its kind, said "PG&E stands head and shoulders above most other leading corporations in its efforts to include veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses in their supplier diversity program. It has been a great mentor and a great partner as we continue to grow our business."

PG&E's bond transactions raised capital for utility investments in safe and reliable electric and gas infrastructure, including generation, transmission and distribution parts of the business.

PG&E was the first California utility, and only the second utility in the country, to hire minority-owned firms as lead underwriters on bond transactions. Since 2007, it has engaged 18 separate diverse suppliers as bond underwriters and increased the share of bond financing fees paid to diverse firms from five percent to 15 percent this year.

PG&E has been committed to diversity and inclusion for more than three decades. Its supplier diversity program has provided thousands of diverse businesses with opportunities to deliver products to PG&E.

PG&E spent $2.3 billion with diverse suppliers in 2013, accounting for 42.1 percent of its total procurement budget. That total represented an increase of $265 million from 2012.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)