WEC Energy Opens A $4 Billion Stock Sales Program Backed By Dozens Of Banks
The utility holding company can sell up to $4 billion of common stock over time, with forward contracts as an option.
WEC Energy Group, the Milwaukee utility holding company, can now sell up to $4 billion of common stock from time to time under an equity distribution agreement it signed Wednesday with a bank syndicate. The program lets it sell shares gradually at market prices, or pair sales with forward contracts that delay when the cash arrives.
How the stock can be sold
The agreement names 16 sales agents, among them Barclays Capital, BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities. BNY Mellon Capital Markets is one of the 16, acting through BTIG. A separate group of 15 banks serves as forward purchasers.
Shares may go out through agents acting for WEC, or to an agent as principal. WEC can also enter forward sale agreements, in which a forward purchaser borrows shares from lenders and sells them through the agent to hedge the contract.
In that case WEC gets no money when the borrowed shares are sold. It expects cash when it later settles the contract by delivering shares, in an amount tied to the forward sale price, which is adjusted for an interest-rate factor and for expected quarterly dividends. If WEC instead settles in cash or net shares, it may receive nothing and could owe cash or shares to the bank.
The agreement also allows collared forwards, which set a floor and a cap on the price WEC receives.
Costs and who decides
Sales agents earn a commission of up to 1.00% of the sales price of each share. On forward deals the commission comes out of the forward sale price. Net proceeds are gross proceeds less commissions and other issuance costs.
WEC decides how much to sell, based on market conditions, its share price, capital needs and the funding sources it prefers, the company said. Only one agent can sell on any given day, and WEC must set a minimum price for forward sales.
The business behind the raise
WEC, whose subsidiaries provide regulated natural gas and electricity and invest in renewable energy, served about 1.70 million electric customers at December 31, 2025, according to its annual report. It owns 8,375 megawatts of generation capacity and holds an approximately 60% stake in electric transmission company ATC.
The new agreement replaces one dated October 31, 2025 with the same banks. Confirmations already entered under the old agreement stay in force. The program ends on the earliest of termination, sale of the full $4 billion, or November 2, 2029.
WEC must report in its quarterly and annual filings how many shares it sold under the program, the gross proceeds and the compensation paid.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — WEC ENERGY GROUP, INC. (WEC) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit tm2628873d4_ex1-1.htm — WEC ENERGY GROUP, INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
