After months of trying, which included the derailment by Western Resources of the proposed merger of UtiliCorp United and Kansas City Power & Light Co., the boards of directors of Western Resources and Kansas City P&L have approved a merger of the two companies in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $2 billion. If approved by the necessary regulatory authorities, the new company would have $9.5 billion in assets, $3 billion in annual revenues and more than 8,000 MW of electric generation.
Meanwhile, UtiliCorp has filed a lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, Missouri, seeking $53 million in damages from Kansas City P&L under the terms of their joint merger agreement. According to UtiliCorp, it is the second and final action required of Kansas City P&L due to the merger's failure. That utility already had paid an initial $5 million in September 1996 when its shareholders failed to endorse the merger. UtiliCorp claims the additional payment was triggered by the intent to merge with Western Resources.