| Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
The information included in Item 2.03 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 1.01.
| Item 2.03 | Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant. |
On March 15, 2023, Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company (“SIGECO”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (the “Company”), and certain institutional investors in the private placement market (“Purchasers”) entered into a Bond Purchase Agreement (“Bond Purchase Agreement”), under which SIGECO agreed to sell, and each Purchaser agreed to severally purchase on March 15, 2023, $100,000,000 4.98% First Mortgage Bonds, Series 2023A, Tranche A due 2028 (the “Tranche A Bonds”) and $80,000,000 5.04% First Mortgage Bonds, Series 2023A, Tranche B due 2033 (the “Tranche B Bonds”, and together with the Tranche A Bonds, the “Bonds”) in the series and tranche as set forth in the Bond Purchase Agreement. The Bonds are issued under and entitled to the benefits of and secured by the Amended and Restated Indenture of Mortgage and Deed of Trust dated as of January 1, 2023 (the “Amended and Restated Mortgage Indenture”) between SIGECO and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (the “Trustee”), as amended by the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of March 15, 2023 (the “First Supplemental Indenture”), between SIGECO and the Trustee relating to the Bonds (the Amended and Restated Mortgage Indenture, as amended by the First Supplemental Indenture is referred to as the “Indenture”). Accordingly, the Bonds will be secured ratably with SIGECO’s first mortgage bonds currently outstanding and those that may be issued in the future by the collateral pledged to secure such bonds. The proceeds of the Bonds will be used for general corporate purposes, including repaying short-term debt and refunding long-term debt at maturity or otherwise. Until the net proceeds from the sale of the Bonds have been used, SIGECO may invest them temporarily in interest-bearing obligations, including investments in the Company’s money pool.
Interest will accrue on the Tranche A Bonds at 4.98% per annum and will be payable on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on September 15, 2023 and continue until the maturity date of March 15, 2028, or earlier prepayment. Interest will accrue on the Tranche B Bonds at 5.04% per annum and will be payable on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on September 15, 2023 and continue until the maturity date of March 15, 2033, or earlier prepayment. SIGECO may prepay at any time all, or from time to time any part of, the Bonds, in an amount not less than 10% in aggregate principal amount of the Bonds or tranche of Bonds then outstanding in the case of a partial prepayment, at 100% of the aggregate principal amount so prepaid together with interest accrued thereon to the date of such prepayment plus a make-whole amount, if any, determined for the prepayment date with respect to such principal amount. The Bonds will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), or under the securities laws of any jurisdiction. The Bonds will be subject to certain restrictions on transfer and may only be sold in transactions exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
The Bond Purchase Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of SIGECO and the Purchasers, respectively. A “completed default” under the Amended and Restated Mortgage Indenture constitutes an event of default under the Bond Purchase Agreement. The remedies available to the Trustee upon the occurrence and continuance of a completed default are included in the Indenture.
Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas and its affiliates have performed other trust, bank and advisory services for the Company, SIGECO and their affiliates from time to time for which they have received customary fees and expenses and may, from time to time, engage in transactions with and perform services for the Company and SIGECO and their affiliates in the ordinary course of their businesses.
The above descriptions of the Amended and Restated Mortgage Indenture, the First Supplemental Indenture and the Bond Purchase Agreement are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the entire Amended and Restated Mortgage Indenture, First Supplemental Indenture, together with the forms of the Bonds included therein, and the Bond Purchase Agreement attached hereto as Exhibits 4.1, 4.2 and 10.1 and incorporated by reference.
