COLUMBIA PIPELINE GROUP, INC. FILES (8-K) Disclosing Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits
Item 8.01. Other Events.
On April 20, 2016, Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("CPG" or the "Company"), issued a press release announcing the record date and meeting date of the special meeting of its stockholders in connection with the previously announced pending acquisition of the Company by TransCanada Corporation pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of March 17, 2016 (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among the Company, TransCanada PipeLines Limited, a Canadian corporation ("Parent"), TransCanada PipeLine USA Ltd., a Nevada corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent ("US Parent"), Taurus Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of US Parent, and, solely for purposes of Section 3.02, Section 5.02, Section 5.09 and Article VIII of the Merger Agreement, TransCanada Corporation, a Canadian corporation and the direct parent company of Parent. The special meeting is being called to seek stockholder approval of a proposal to adopt the Merger Agreement and certain other related matters.
The special meeting will be held on June 22, 2016 at 9 a.m., local time, at The St. Regis Houston Hotel, 1919 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston, TX 77027. Holders of record of CPG common stock as of the close of business on May 18, 2016 will be entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the special meeting.
The Company expects to commence a mailing of the definitive proxy statement in connection with the special meeting to its stockholders on or about May 18, 2016.
The proposed acquisition is subject to approval by CPG's stockholders, regulatory approval and certain other customary closing conditions.
A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this filing may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning CPG and the proposed merger with TransCanada. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical facts and that frequently use words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "position," "should," "strategy," "target," "will" and similar words. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this filing. Although CPG believes that the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there is no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved and such statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Therefore, actual outcomes and results could materially differ from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such statements and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. CPG's business may be influenced by many factors that are difficult to predict, involve uncertainties that may materially affect actual results and are often beyond CPG's control. These factors include, but are not limited to, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to termination of the merger agreement with TransCanada; the inability to complete the proposed merger due to the failure to obtain stockholder approval for the proposed merger or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the proposed merger, including that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay or refuse to grant approval for the consummation of the merger; risks related to disruption of management's attention from CPG's ongoing business operations due to the pending merger; the impact of the announcement of the proposed merger on relationships with third parties, including commercial counterparties, employees and competitors, and risks associated with the loss and ongoing replacement of key personnel; risks relating to unanticipated costs of integration in connection with the proposed merger, including operating costs, customer loss or business disruption being greater than expected; changes in general economic conditions; competitive conditions in our industry; actions taken by third-party operators, processors and transporters; the demand for natural gas storage and transportation services; our ability to successfully implement our business plan; our ability to complete internal growth projects on time and on budget; the price and availability of debt and equity
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financing; the availability and price of natural gas to the consumer compared with the price of alternative and competing fuels; competition from the same and alternative energy sources; energy efficiency and technology trends; operating hazards and other risks incidental to transporting, storing and gathering natural gas; natural disasters, weather-related delays, casualty losses, acts of war and terrorism and other matters beyond our control; interest rates; labor relations; large customer defaults; changes in the availability and cost of capital; changes in tax status; the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations; and the effects of future litigation, including litigation relating to the proposed merger with TransCanada. We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information about these and other factors can be found in CPG's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as amended, and CPG's other filings with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press filing are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements. CPG expressly disclaims any obligation to update, amend or clarify any forward-looking statement to reflect events, new information or circumstances occurring after the date of this filing except as required by applicable law.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed acquisition of CPG by TransCanada. In connection with the proposed merger transaction, CPG filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC on April 8, 2016, and intends to file other relevant documents with the SEC, including a proxy statement in definitive form (which CPG expects to commence disseminating to stockholders on or about May 18, 2016). BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, CPG'S STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER.
Investors and security holders will be able to obtain, free of charge, a copy of the definitive proxy statement (when available) and other relevant documents filed with the SEC from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the proxy statement and CPG's annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act will be available free of charge through CPG's website at https://www.cpg.com/ as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.
PARTICIPANTS IN SOLICITATION
CPG and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of CPG common stock in respect of the proposed merger. Information about the directors and executive officers of CPG can be found in CPG's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the SEC on February 18, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto on Form 10-K/A, filed with the SEC on April 7, 2016. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests in the merger, which may be different than those of CPG's stockholders generally, will be contained in the proxy statement other relevant materials that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed merger when they become available.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description
99.1 Press Release issued by Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc., dated
April 20, 2016.
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