PG&E Engaged Diverse-Owned Banks For $750 Million Bond Sale

SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) employed four diverse-owned investment banks to help manage an offering of $750 million of 10-year and 30-year senior notes that closed successfully on June 14.

CastleOak Securities, an African American-owned investment bank headquartered in New York City, was one of four joint lead managers on the deal. The co-managers included African American-owned The Williams Capital Group in New York City; Hispanic-owned Great Pacific Securities in Southern California; and African American-owned Kota Global Securities in San Francisco. In total, PG&E paid more than $1 million to the diverse investment banks to help execute this transaction, the most fees it has ever paid to diverse banks on a single transaction.

"We were proud to work with these firms to successfully complete this major transaction," said Kent Harvey, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PG&E Corporation. "This collaboration reflects PG&E's strong commitment to engaging diverse businesses as suppliers to PG&E. Through all facets of our work to deliver safe, reliable and affordable gas and electric service to our customers, we are supporting economic development, job creation and diversity in the many communities we serve."  

This bond transaction was one of the largest for PG&E in recent years and the fourth that the utility has completed with a minority-owned investment bank as a lead manager. The bonds mature on June 15, 2043, and June 15, 2023, and bear an interest rate of 4.6 percent and 3.25 percent respectively. The bonds are rated "A3" by Moody's Investors Service and "BBB" by Standard & Poor's. Proceeds from the bonds will be used primarily to finance the tender offer for PG&E's outstanding senior notes and for general company purposes, including repaying a portion of the utility's outstanding commercial paper.

"PG&E's display of trust and confidence in CastleOak's full service platform is a testament to our banking, capital markets, and institutional sales groups, and our ability to add value alongside PG&E's larger underwriters. Over the years, PG&E has been an enduring partner, providing support early in our firm's development and helping to foster our continued growth," said David Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of CastleOak Securities. "We are proud to have earned the opportunity to lead-manage a significant transaction for one of the nation's leading investor-owned utilities."

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. In 2012, PG&E spent more than $2 billion with diverse suppliers—a record high for the company—accounting for 38.8 percent of its total procurement budget. The total was twice what the utility spent on diverse suppliers in 2010.

Among the many accolades the utility has received recently for its commitment to diverse business development, PG&E was named Corporation of the Year by the Northern California Minority Supplier Development Council, and one of the 10 best U.S. corporations nationwide for veteran-owned businesses by the National Veteran-Owned Business Association.

For information on PG&E's supplier diversity program or to learn how to apply to become a certified diverse supplier, visit www.pge.com/supplierdiversity/.

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 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED