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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Amendment No. 1 to confidential draft submission
As submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May [ ], 2013 pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
NRG Yieldco, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
4911 (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
46-1777204 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
211 Carnegie Center
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 524-9500
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including
area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)
David R. Hill
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
211 Carnegie Center
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 524-9500
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies of all communications, including communications sent to agent for service, should be sent to: | ||
Gerald T. Nowak, P.C. Kirkland & Ellis LLP 300 North LaSalle Chicago, Illinois 60654 (312) 862-2000 |
Kirk A. Davenport II Patrick H. Shannon Latham & Watkins LLP 885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000 New York, New York 10022 (212) 906-1200 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box: o
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer o | Non-accelerated filer ý (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Smaller reporting company o |
The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus dated May [ ], 2013
Shares
NRG Yieldco, Inc.
Class A Common Stock
This is the initial public offering of the Class A common stock of NRG Yieldco, Inc. We were recently formed by NRG Energy, Inc. ("NRG"). We are offering shares of our Class A common stock in this offering.
We expect the public offering price to be between $ and $ per share. Currently, no public market exists for our Class A common stock. After pricing of the offering, we expect that our Class A common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol " ."
Immediately following this offering, the holders of our Class A common stock will collectively own 100% of the economic interests in and will hold % of the voting power in NRG Yieldco, Inc. The holders of our Class B common stock will hold the remaining % of the voting power in NRG Yieldco, Inc. NRG will beneficially own all of our outstanding Class B common stock upon completion of this offering. As a result, we will be a "controlled company" within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the New York Stock Exchange.
We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, as such, are allowed to provide in this prospectus more limited disclosures than an issuer that would not so qualify. In addition, for so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will qualify for certain limited exceptions from investor protection laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010. Please read "Risk FactorsRisks Inherent in an Investment in UsWe are an "emerging growth company" and may elect to comply with reduced public company reporting requirements, which could make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors" and "SummaryJOBS Act."
Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks that are described in the "Risk Factors" section beginning on page 29 of this prospectus.
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Per Share
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Total
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public offering price |
$ | $ | |||||
Underwriting discount |
$ | $ | |||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
$ | $ |
The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional shares of our Class A common stock from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, for 30 days after the date of this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
BofA Merrill Lynch | ||||
Goldman, Sachs & Co. | ||||
Citi |
The date of this prospectus is , 2013.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf or any other information to which we have referred you in connection with this offering. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
Until , 2013 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our Class A common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers' obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
Notice to Investors
Several of our subsidiaries are "public utilities" (as defined in the Federal Power Act ("FPA")) subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") because they own or operate FERC-jurisdictional facilities, including certain generation interconnection facilities and various "paper" facilities, such as wholesale power sales contracts and market-based rate tariffs. The FPA requires us either to obtain prior authorization from the FERC prior to the transfer of an amount of our Class A common stock sufficient to convey direct or indirect "control" over any of our public utility subsidiaries or to qualify for a blanket authorization granted under FERC's regulations for certain types of transfers generally deemed by FERC not to convey direct or indirect "control." Consistent with FERC's guidance on "control" and the requirements for blanket authorizations granted under FERC's regulations our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become
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effective immediately prior to the closing of this offering, will prohibit any person and any of its associate or affiliate companies in the aggregate, "public utility" (as defined in the FPA), or "holding company" (as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 ("PUHCA")) from acquiring an amount of our Class A common stock sufficient to convey direct or indirect "control" over any of our public utility subsidiaries without the prior written consent of our board of directors. For the purposes of this offering, "control" is defined to be a direct and/or indirect voting interest of 10% or more in any of the public utility subsidiaries of our direct subsidiary, NRG Yieldco LLC ("Yieldco LLC"). Because Yieldco LLC will indirectly own as much as 100% of the voting interests in certain of these public utility subsidiaries, "control" of such public utility subsidiaries would be deemed to be present if the sum of (i) the percentage ownership of an individual investor and any of its associate or affiliate companies in the aggregate of NRG's voting securities multiplied by the percentage of our outstanding voting securities held, directly or indirectly, by NRG, plus (ii) such investor's percentage ownership of our Class A common stock multiplied by the percentage of our outstanding voting securities not held, directly or indirectly, by NRG, exceeded 10%. "Control" could also be present, and pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, prior written consent of our board of directors would be required, if the aggregate direct and/or indirect voting interest in us held by an individual investor and any of its associate or affiliate companies together with a separate investment in another public utility subsidiary of ours not wholly-owned by Yieldco LLC exceeded the 10% threshold. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell any share of our Class A common stock to any person in violation of these or any other provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Industry and Market Data
This prospectus includes industry data and forecasts that we obtained from industry publications and surveys, public filings and internal company sources. Industry publications and surveys and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there can be no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of the included information. Statements as to our market position and market estimates are based on independent industry publications, government publications, third-party forecasts, management's estimates and assumptions about our markets and our internal research. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market, industry or similar data presented herein, such data involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in this prospectus.
Trademarks and Trade Names
We own or have rights to various trademarks, service marks and trade names that we use in connection with the operation of our business. This prospectus may also contain trademarks, service marks and trade names of NRG and third parties, which are the property of their respective owners. Our use or display of third parties' trademarks, service marks, trade names or products in this prospectus is not intended to, and should not be read to, imply a relationship with or endorsement or sponsorship of us. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ®, TM or SM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, service marks and trade names. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsLicensing Agreement" for a description of the licensing agreement pursuant to which we will be granted a license for the right to use the NRG name and logo in the United States and Canada, subject to certain exceptions and limitations.
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Certain Terms Used in this Prospectus
Unless the context otherwise indicates, references within this prospectus to:
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Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this prospectus contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future financial performance, business strategy, plans, goals and objectives.
Statements preceded or followed by, or that otherwise include, the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "project," "estimates," "plans," "forecast," "is likely to" and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "would," "should" and "could" are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements:
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The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. It does not contain all the information you need to consider in making your investment decision. Before making an investment decision, you should read this entire prospectus carefully and should consider, among other things, the matters set forth under "Risk Factors," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and our and our predecessor's financial statements and related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.
Unless the context provides otherwise, references herein to "we," "our," "our company" and "Yieldco" refer to Yieldco Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the Organizational Structure (as defined herein), including Yieldco LLC and Yieldco Operating LLC.
About Yieldco Inc.
We are a dividend growth-oriented company formed to serve as the primary vehicle through which NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) will own, operate and acquire contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets. We believe we are well positioned to be a premier company for investors seeking stable and growing dividend income from a diversified portfolio of lower-risk high-quality assets. We intend to take advantage of favorable trends in the power generation industry including the growing construction of contracted generation that can replace aging or uneconomic facilities in competitive markets and the demand by utilities for renewable generation to meet their state's RPS. To that end, we believe that Yieldco's cash flow profile, coupled with its scale, diversity and low cost business model, will offer us a lower cost of capital than that of a traditional independent power producer and provide us with a significant competitive advantage to execute our growth strategy.
With this business model, our objective is to pay a consistent and growing cash dividend to holders of our Class A common stock that is sustainable on a long-term basis. We expect to target a payout ratio of 100% of the cash distributions received from our membership interest in our subsidiaries and increase such cash dividends over time as we acquire assets with characteristics similar to assets in our current portfolio. We will focus on high-quality, newly constructed and long-life facilities with credit-worthy counterparties that we expect will produce stable long term cash flows. Based on the completion of our two projects under construction, El Segundo and CVSR, and significant acquisition opportunities available to us, including the NRG ROFO Assets, we expect to achieve a 10% to 15% annual dividend growth rate on average over the next five years. Prospective investors should read "Cash Dividend Policy," including our financial forecast and related assumptions, and "Risk Factors," including the risks and uncertainties related to our forecasted results, completion of construction and acquisition opportunities, in their entirety.
Pursuant to our cash dividend policy, we intend to pay a cash dividend each quarter to holders of our Class A common stock. Our initial quarterly dividend will be set at $ per share of Class A common stock, or $ per share on an annualized basis. Our cash dividend policy reflects a basic judgment that holders of our Class A common stock will be better served by distributing all of the cash distributions received from Yieldco LLC each quarter in the form of a quarterly dividend rather than retaining it. See "Cash Dividend Policy."
Upon the consummation of this offering, (i) holders of our Class A common stock will collectively own 100% of the economic interests in us and hold % of the voting power in us; (ii) NRG will own (a) all of our outstanding Class B common stock, or % of the voting power in us, and (b) approximately % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units, entitling NRG to % of the cash distributions from Yieldco LLC; (iii) Yieldco Inc. will become the sole managing member of Yieldco LLC, hold approximately % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units and be entitled to % of the cash distributions from Yieldco LLC; and (iv) Yieldco LLC will be obligated
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to distribute to its unit holders all of the cash available for distribution that is generated each quarter, which will be calculated net of reserves for the prudent conduct of our business. NRG will hold % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units, be entitled to % of the cash distributions from Yieldco LLC and hold % of the voting power in us.
About NRG
NRG Energy, Inc. is a Fortune 300 and S&P 500 Index company with dual headquarters in Princeton, NJ and Houston, TX, and significant management presence in the East, Gulf Coast, and West regions of the United States. Following the completion of its merger with GenOn Energy Inc. (the "GenOn Merger") in December 2012, NRG became the nation's largest competitive power generator with approximately 47,000 MW of fossil fuel, nuclear, solar and wind capacity at almost 100 generating facilities located in 18 states, enough to supply electricity to nearly 40 million homes. In addition, NRG provides retail electricity and energy services directly to more than two million customers.
NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy and is a pioneer in developing cleaner and smarter energy choices for its customers, whether as one of the largest solar power developers in the country, by building the first privately funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure or by giving customers the latest smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. With these investments, NRG is working to help the United States transition to a clean energy economy.
Purpose of Yieldco
Through this offering, NRG and Yieldco intend to create enhanced value for holders of our Class A common stock by seeking to achieve the following objectives:
Current Operations
We own a diversified portfolio of contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States. Our contracted generation portfolio includes three natural gas or dual-fired facilities, eight utility-scale solar and wind generation facilities and two portfolios of distributed solar facilities that collectively represent 1,154 net MW. Each of these assets sells substantially all of its output pursuant to long-term, fixed price offtake agreements to credit-worthy counterparties. The average remaining contract life, weighted by MWs, of these offtake agreements was approximately 17 years as of December 31, 2012. Two of these facilities, El Segundo and CVSR, are in the final stages of construction with expected COD dates of August and October 2013, respectively. We also own thermal infrastructure assets with an aggregate steam and chilled water capacity of 1,098 net MWt and electric generation capacity of 123 net MW. These thermal infrastructure assets provide steam, hot water and/or chilled water, and in some instances electricity, to commercial businesses, universities, hospitals and governmental units in ten locations, principally through long-term contracts or pursuant to rates regulated by state utility commissions.
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Our forecasted net MW and cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, which reflects the first full twelve months of operation of our portfolio including the two electric generation facilities currently under construction, are as follows:
Our annual forecasted cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 based on our current assets are as follows:
Cash Available for Distribution
See "Cash Dividend Policy" for additional information regarding our forecasted net MW and cash available for distribution through the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015, and the related forecast assumptions and risks.
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Our Growth Strategy
We intend to utilize the significant experience of our management team to take advantage of what we believe are favorable industry and market dynamics as we execute our growth strategy. In addition to the opportunities to increase our cash available for distribution upon the COD of the El Segundo and CVSR facilities, we expect to have the opportunity to increase our cash available for distribution and dividend per share by acquiring additional assets from NRG, including those available to us under the ROFO Agreement, and to pursue additional acquisition opportunities that are complementary to our business from persons other than NRG. The ROFO Agreement will provide us with the right of first offer to acquire the NRG ROFO Assets, as set forth in the following table, should NRG seek to sell any of these assets. We believe that the NRG ROFO Assets possess characteristics similar to those of our initial asset portfolio including, among others, long-term offtake agreements with credit-worthy counterparties, limited or no commodity price risk, newly constructed assets with long useful lives and low emissions profile.
ROFO Assets
|
Fuel Type | Net Capacity (MW)(1) |
Expected COD |
Term/Offtaker | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Remaining NRG CVSR Interest |
Solar | 128 | 2013 | 25 year/PG&E | ||||||
NRG's Ivanpah Solar Interest (49.95%)(2) |
Solar | 193 | 2013 | 20-25 year/PG&E and SCE | ||||||
Marsh Landing |
Natural Gas | 760 | 2013 | 10 year/PG&E | ||||||
NRG Agua Caliente Interest (51%)(3) |
Solar | 148 | 2014 | 25 year/PG&E | ||||||
TA High Desert |
Solar | 20 | 2013 | 20 year/SCE | ||||||
Total |
1,249 |
Under the ROFO Agreement, however, NRG will not be obligated to sell the NRG ROFO Assets and, therefore, we do not know when, if ever, these assets will be offered to us. In addition, in the event that NRG elects to sell such assets, NRG will not be required to accept any offer we make to acquire any NRG ROFO Asset or, following the completion of good faith negotiations with us and subject to certain exceptions, may choose to sell such assets to a third party or not sell the assets at all.
NRG has informed us of its intention for Yieldco Inc. to serve as its primary vehicle for owning, operating and acquiring contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets. NRG will assist us in the pursuit of such acquisitions by presenting us with such opportunities and allocating resources as will be defined in the Management Services Agreement. In general, we do not expect to acquire assets that are in development or early stages of construction, and expect NRG to continue to pursue these opportunities for its own account. Under the Management Services Agreement, NRG will not be prohibited from acquiring or operating renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets that are contracted. See "Risk FactorRisks Related to Our Relationship with NRG".
NRG has also informed us that it intends to continue to pursue the development and construction of its currently-owned brownfield sites, where applicable, into electric generation assets and once completed it may decide to offer them for sale to us.
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Our Operations
The following table provides an overview of our assets:
|
|
|
Capacity | Offtake agreements | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assets(1)
|
Location | COD(2) | Rated MW(3) |
Net MW(4) |
Contracted Volume(5) |
Counterparty | Counterparty Credit Rating(6) |
Expiration | ||||||||||||||
Conventional |
||||||||||||||||||||||
GenConn Devon |
Connecticut | June 2010 | 190 | 95 | 100 | % | Connecticut Light & Power | A-/Baa2/BBB+ | 2040 | |||||||||||||
GenConn Middletown |
Connecticut | June 2011 | 190 | 95 | 100 | % | Connecticut Light & Power | A-/Baa2/BBB+ | 2041 | |||||||||||||
El Segundo |
California | August 2013 | 550 | 550 | 100 | % | Southern California Edison | BBB+/A3/A- | 2023 | |||||||||||||
|
930 | 740 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Utility Scale Solar |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Blythe |
California | December 2009 | 21 | 21 | 100 | % | Southern California Edison | BBB+/A3/A- | 2029 | |||||||||||||
Roadrunner |
New Mexico | August 2011 | 20 | 20 | 100 | % | El Paso Electric | BBB/Baa2/NR | 2031 | |||||||||||||
Avenal |
California | August 2011 | 45 | 23 | 100 | % | Pacific Gas & Electric | BBB/A3/BBB+ | 2031 | |||||||||||||
Avra Valley |
Arizona | December 2012 | 25 | 25 | 100 | % | Tucson Electric Power | BB+/Baa3/BBB- | 2032 | |||||||||||||
Alpine |
California | January 2013 | 66 | 66 | 100 | % | Pacific Gas & Electric | BBB/A3/BBB+ | 2033 | |||||||||||||
Borrego |
California | February 2013 | 26 | 26 | 100 | % | San Diego Gas and Electric | A/A2/A- | 2038 | |||||||||||||
CVSR |
California | October 2013 | 250 | 122 | 100 | % | Pacific Gas & Electric | BBB/A3/BBB+ | 2038 | |||||||||||||
|
453 | 303 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distributed Solar |
||||||||||||||||||||||
AZ DG Solar Projects |
Arizona | December 2010-January 2013 | 5 | 5 | 100 | % | Various public entities | 2025-2033 | ||||||||||||||
PFMG DG Solar Projects |
California | October 2012-December 2012 | 9 | 5 | 100 | % | Various public entities | 2032 | ||||||||||||||
|
14 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind |
||||||||||||||||||||||
South Trent Wind Farm |
Texas | January 2009 | 101 | 101 | 100 | % | AEP Energy Partners | BBB/NR/BBB(7) | 2029 | |||||||||||||
|
101 | 101 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total Conventional, Solar and Wind |
1,498 | 1,154 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thermal Energy |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Minneapolis |
Minnesota | 1993(8 | ) | 334 | 334 | 100 | % | Approx. 100 steam customers; long-term contracts | ||||||||||||||
|
141 | 141 | Approx. 50 chilled water customers; long-term contracts | |||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco |
California | 1995(8 | ) | 133 | 133 | 100 | % | Approx. 175 steam customers; regulated rates | ||||||||||||||
|
87 | 87 | Approx. 25 steam customers; long-term contracts/regulated rates | |||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh |
Pennsylvania | 1995(8 | ) | 46 | 46 | 100 | % | Approx. 25 chilled water customers; long-term contracts/regulated rates | ||||||||||||||
San Diego |
California | 1997(8 | ) | 26 | 26 | 100 | % | Approx. 20 chilled water customers; long-term contracts | ||||||||||||||
Dover |
Delaware | 2000(8 | ) | 22 | 22 | 100 | % | Kraft Foods Inc. and Procter & Gamble Company; three-year contracts | ||||||||||||||
Harrisburg |
Pennsylvania | 2000(8 | ) | 129 | 129 | 100 | % | Approx. 140 steam customers; regulated rates | ||||||||||||||
|
8 | 8 | 3 chilled water customers; long-term contracts | |||||||||||||||||||
Phoenix |
Arizona | 2010(8 | ) | 134 | 134 | 100 | % | Approx. 30 chilled water customers; long-term contracts | ||||||||||||||
Princeton |
New Jersey | 2012 | 21 | 21 | 100 | % | Princeton HealthCare System; long-term contract | |||||||||||||||
|
17 | 17 | Princeton HealthCare System; long-term contract | |||||||||||||||||||
Total Steam |
726 | 726 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total Chilled Water |
372 | 372 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Total Thermal Energy |
1,098 | 1,098 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thermal Generation |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Paxton |
Pennsylvania | 2000(8 | ) | 12 | 12 | Power sold into PJM markets | ||||||||||||||||
Princeton |
New Jersey | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Excess power sold into local grid | |||||||||||||||||
Dover |
Delaware | 2013 | 106 | 106 | Power sold into PJM markets | |||||||||||||||||
Total Thermal Generation |
123 | 123 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Our assets and operations are organized into the following four segments:
Conventional Operations: Our conventional operations consist of 740 net MW of natural gas and dual-fired generation assets, El Segundo and GenConn, located in the West and Northeast regions of the United States, respectively. GenConn is a 50/50 joint venture with The United Illuminating Company ("UIL") and consists of two dual-fuel (natural gas and oil) simple-cycle generation facilities, located in Devon and Middletown, Connecticut. Each GenConn facility has a rated capacity of 190 MW, or 95 net MW. GenConn has two 30-year regulated CfD agreements, with Connecticut Light and Power ("CL&P") that provide for an allowable floor of 9.75% regulated rate of return on invested capital and an allowable return on equity of 9.75%. We are also constructing on a brownfield site, in Los Angeles County, California, the 550 net MW El Segundo fast-start combined-cycle natural gas-fired generation facility. El Segundo's construction was approximately 94% complete as of March 31, 2013, and we anticipate we will reach COD in August 2013. NRG has already made all required capital contributions to the El Segundo project and all remaining construction costs will be funded with draws under the project's existing committed credit facility. El Segundo will sell all the energy and capacity it generates and ancillary products and services to Southern California Edison ("SCE") under a 10-year tolling agreement.
Utility Scale Solar Operations: Our seven utility-scale solar generation assets generate electricity through the use of photovoltaic panels, with each facility equal to or exceeding 20 MW and collectively totaling 303 net MW of capacity. These facilities are located in Arizona, California and New Mexico, all states with attractive solar resources. These facilities have long-term offtake agreements with credit-worthy counterparties, consisting primarily of investment grade regulated electric utilities, with a weighted average remaining contract life of over 22 years as of December 31, 2012. In addition, all of these facilities have secured long-term debt financing as of March 31, 2013. As of March 31, 2013 our Blythe, Avenal, Roadrunner, Alpine, Borrego and Avra Valley facilities, representing a total of 203 rated MW, were in operation and generating cash flows. Our utility-scale solar generation facilities also include a 48.95% ownership interest in CVSR, a 250 rated MW solar generation facility under construction in California. CVSR began construction of its four phases in September 2011. As of December 31, 2012, three of its phases totaling 127 rated MW had achieved COD and were generating electricity under CVSR's two 25-year PPAs with Pacific Gas & Electric Company ("PG&E"). We anticipate CVSR's final phase will reach COD in October 2013. CVSR's project-level financing includes a $1.2 billion construction and permanent financing facility guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"), as described in "BusinessOur OperationsCVSRProject-Level Financing." We intend to utilize draws under CVSR's DOE committed construction facility and to use a portion of the proceeds retained by us from this offering to fund our required capital contributions to pay for our portion of CVSR's remaining construction costs. We expect the asset will be fully financed following completion of this offering. The remaining 51.05% ownership interest in CVSR is held by NRG and will be subject to the ROFO Agreement should NRG seek to sell its remaining interest.
Distributed Solar Operations: Our distributed solar generation facilities, which we generally define as facilities of less than 20 MW in operating capacity, each generate electricity through the use of photovoltaic panels. Our customers for these facilities are located in California and Arizona and primarily include governmental offtakers which are predominately of investment grade quality with
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offtake terms ranging from 15 to 20 years. Our distributed solar generation facilities are deployed either on the customer's roof, parking facilities (as a canopy) or as ground mounted (open space) installations. We intend to finance the acquisition of future distributed solar generation facilities through proceeds from new equity offerings, the use of cash on hand or through various project financing structures or "portfolios." Our distributed solar assets include two portfoliosa 100% membership interest in various facilities in Arizona (collectively, the "AZ DG Solar Projects") and a 51% membership interest in various facilities in California (collectively, the "PFMG DG Solar Projects"). Each of the AZ DG Solar Projects and the PFMG DG Solar Projects consists of multiple sites with an aggregate 5 net MW.
Wind Operations: Our wind operations are comprised of the 101 MW South Trent wind farm located near Sweetwater, Texas. It consists of 44 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines capable, at rated capacity, of powering approximately 80,000 homes. Our South Trent generation asset has a 20-year PPA with AEP Energy Partners, Inc., a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company, Inc. NRG acquired South Trent in June 2010 and financed the acquisition through a long-term non-recourse term loan which we will retain. See "BusinessOur Operations-Wind-South Trent-Project-Level Financing" for additional information regarding this term loan.
Thermal Operations: Our thermal operations are comprised of district energy systems and combined heat and power plants (collectively, "Energy Centers") that utilize an energy-efficient, environmentally sound method of heating and cooling buildings. These Energy Centers produce steam, hot water and/or chilled water and in some instances, electricity at a central plant. The steam or water is then piped underground to individual buildings within a specific area for heating, cooling or industrial use. We have eight Energy Centers located in Arizona, California, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania totaling approximately 1,098 net MWt in capacity. We also operate five power generation and/or thermal facilities on behalf of customers under long term operating agreements. Our thermal contracts are long-term, typically 20 years at initiation, and have negotiated rates and/or have rates that are regulated by the applicable state public utility commission. We have over 550 steam and chilled water customers, with no one customer expected to account for more than 10% of our estimated 2013 thermal revenue. Electricity produced by the 123 net MW of our thermal generation assets is either sold to customers under contracts or to the local power grid. A majority of our projected gross margins from our thermal generation assets for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015 are attributable to expected payments for electric capacity resources sold through the reliability pricing model ("RPM") auctions administered by PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. ("PJM"). One of our thermal generation assets, the Dover Energy Center ("Dover"), which consists of two combustion turbines and a coal-fired steam turbine with an aggregate net capacity of 106 MW, is currently in the process of converting the facility's coal-fired turbine to supply steam to the existing steam turbine in a combined cycle mode, thus using natural gas as its primary fuel instead of coal. We estimate this construction project, which is being funded with NRG Thermal's cash on hand, was approximately 55% complete as of December 31, 2012 and expect the conversion to be completed in June 2013 with no change in the facility's net capacity.
Industry Overview
The U.S. Electric Power Industry
The electric power industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, with an estimated end-user market of approximately $373 billion in electricity sales in 2011 based on information published by the Edison Electric Institute ("EEI").
Growth of Natural Gas and Renewable Generation Resources
Recently, industry participants in the United States have increasingly transitioned to building natural gas-fired and renewable generation resources in response to more stringent environmental
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regulations, expectations for the continued relative abundance of low cost natural gas and supportive federal and state incentives and policy initiatives. EEI estimates that 21.8 gigawatts of new generation capacity was added in the United States in 2011. Natural gas-fired and renewables generation assets were the two largest contributors of the capacity growth within the U.S. power generation industry, contributing 47.2% and 38.5%, respectively. According to EEI, solar generation represented the fastest growing segment with respect to capacity additions within the U.S. power generation industry from 2007 to 2011. In 2006, capacity additions of solar generation accounted for approximately 1 MW. In 2011, such additions accounted for approximately 942 MW. In its "Annual Energy Outlook 2012," the U.S. Energy Information Administration ("EIA") of the DOE forecasts in its reference case that 60% and 29% of all new electric generation capacity constructed in the U.S. between 2011 and 2035 will be comprised of natural gas-fired generation and renewable generation capacity, respectively.
We believe that over time continued growth in renewable and natural gas-fired generation in the United States will be driven by the following factors.
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issues, coupled with the current low natural gas price environment, have delayed or halted most new nuclear development activities in the United States. Based on reports from the Nuclear Energy Institute, we believe future additions will remain modest for the next decade and will most likely come from life extensions of existing nuclear plants, uprates of existing nuclear reactors and a small number of new builds. As of September 2012, there were only three nuclear generation facilities under construction in the United States, all of which involve the construction of additional units on existing nuclear-fired generation sites.
We believe that the retirement of these types of facilities and the delays of new nuclear projects combined with the increasingly cost-competitive alternatives of natural
gas-fired and renewable generation assets, will create opportunities to grow our portfolio of contracted generation assets in the future.
Continued Acquisition Opportunities for Natural Gas and Renewable Generation Assets
We believe there will continue to be acquisition opportunities for natural gas-fired generation and renewable energy in the United States. According to EIA's Electric Power Annual 2010 report, there were approximately 1,139 gigawatts of nameplate capacity in the United States. Also, according to SNL Financial LC, from 2008 to 2012, unregulated generation assets representing 90 gigawatts of generation capacity have been bought or sold on terms that are publicly disclosed, of which approximately 22 gigawatts were contracted, generating assets. Many of these transactions involved financial sponsors as acquirers and/or contracted assets under development or construction that have been sold by independent project developers during the same period. A significant number of these contracted assets possess characteristics that are attractive to us, such as long-term offtake contracts with credit-worthy counterparties, natural gas-fired and renewable energy generation capabilities and favorable tax profiles. We expect assets with similar attributes to be available in the future as potential acquisition targets to us as most financial sponsors have investment funds with relatively short lives and independent project developers, in particular smaller developers, seek sources of capital to construct their project or monetize their existing investment given their lack of expertise in operating electric generation assets.
The U.S. Thermal Power Industry
District energy systems produce steam, hot water and/or chilled water at a central plant and then pipe that thermal energy out through an underground dedicated piping network to heat or cool
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buildings in a given area. District energy systems can reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, while freeing up valuable space in customer buildings by centralizing production equipment and, through economies of scale and equipment management, optimizing the use of fuels, power and resources.
In North America, district energy systems are typically located in dense urban settings in the central business districts of larger cities, on university or college campuses, on hospital or research campuses and on military bases and airports. District energy systems typically serve "clusters" of buildings, which are sometimes commonly owned, as in the case of a private or public university campus or hospital. The number of customer buildings served by a typical district energy system may range from as few as three or four in the early stages of new system development to over 1,000 buildings in the largest district energy systems.
The district energy space is tracked by the growth of new customer buildings and the square footage from reporting systems on an annual basis. Based on information provided by International District Energy Association ("IDEA") members, since 1990 over 518 million square feet of new customer space has been committed or connected to district energy systems, averaging approximately 24.7 million square feet per year.
Our Business Strategy
Our primary business strategy is to increase the cash dividends that we intend to pay to holders of our Class A common stock over time while ensuring the ongoing stability of our business. Our plan for executing this strategy includes the following key components:
Focus on contracted renewable energy and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets. We intend to focus on owning and operating renewable energy and natural gas-fired generation, thermal and other infrastructure assets with proven technologies, low operating risks and stable cash flows consistent with the characteristics of our current portfolio. We believe by focusing on this core asset class and leveraging our industry knowledge, we will maximize our strategic opportunities, be a leader in operational efficiency and maximize our overall financial performance.
Capitalizing on embedded growth opportunities associated with our existing assets. We are completing construction of El Segundo, a 550 net MW combined cycle natural gas-fired generation facility located in the center of Los Angeles' load pocket that is subject to a 10-year tolling agreement with SCE, and CVSR, our 122 net MW utility-scale photovoltaic solar generation facility located in San Luis Obispo County, California, that is subject to two 25-year PPAs with PG&E. As of March 31, 2013, El Segundo's construction was approximately 94% complete and was on schedule to reach COD in August 2013. As of December 31, 2012, three phases of CVSR totaling 127 rated MW had been completed and were generating electricity, with the final phase, representing an additional 123 rated MW, on schedule to reach COD in October 2013. Upon completion, we expect El Segundo and CVSR to substantially increase the cash available for distribution to our stockholders. See "Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our BusinessWe may incur additional costs or delays in completing the construction of certain of our electric and thermal generation facilities, and may not be able to recover our investment in or complete such facilities."
Growing our business through acquisitions. We believe that our base of operations and relationship with NRG provide a platform in the power generation and thermal sectors for strategic growth through cash accretive and tax advantaged acquisitions complementary to our existing portfolio. NRG has granted us a right of first offer to acquire the NRG ROFO Assets that it may elect to sell within the five years following the completion of this offering. In addition, we expect to have significant opportunities to acquire other generation assets developed and constructed by NRG in the future as well as generation and thermal infrastructure assets from third parties where we believe our knowledge of the market, operating expertise and access to capital provides us with a competitive advantage.
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Focus on the United States. We intend to focus our investments in the United States and its unincorporated territories. We believe that industry fundamentals in the United States present us with significant opportunity to acquire renewable, natural gas-fired generation and thermal infrastructure assets, without creating exposure to currency and sovereign risk. By focusing our efforts in the United States, we believe we will best leverage our regional knowledge of power markets, industry relationships and skill sets to maximize value for our stockholders.
Maintain sound financial practices to grow our dividend. We intend to maintain our commitment to disciplined financial analysis and a balanced capital structure to enable us to increase our dividend over time and serve the long-term interests of our stockholders. Our financial practices will include our risk and credit policy focused on transacting with credit-worthy counterparties; our financing policy, which will focus on seeking an optimal capital structure through various capital formation alternatives to minimize interest rate and refinancing risks, ensure stable long-term dividends and maximize value; and our dividend policy, which is based on distributing all or substantially all of our cash available for distribution each quarter. See "Cash Dividend Policy." We intend to evaluate various alternatives for financing future acquisitions and refinancing of our existing project-level debt, in each case, to reduce the cost of debt, extend maturities and maximize our cash available for distribution. While in the past we have financed our projects on a non-recourse basis to us, upon completion of this offering, we believe we will have additional flexibility to seek alternative financing arrangements, including, but not limited to, debt financings at a holding company level.
Our Competitive Strengths
We believe that we are well positioned to execute our business strategies because of the following competitive strengths:
Stable, high quality cash flows with attractive tax profile. Our facilities have a highly stable, predictable cash flow profile consisting of predominantly long-life electric generation assets that sell electricity under long-term fixed priced contracts or pursuant to regulated rates with credit-worthy counterparties. Additionally, our facilities have minimal fuel risk. For our three conventional assets, fuel is provided by the toll counterparty or the cost thereof is a pass-through cost under the CfD. Renewable facilities have no fuel costs, and most of our thermal infrastructure assets have contractual or regulatory tariff mechanisms for fuel cost recovery. The offtake agreements for our conventional and renewable generation facilities have a weighted-average remaining duration of approximately 17 years based on net capacity under contract, providing long-term cash flow stability. Our generation offtake agreements for rated counterparties for whom credit ratings are available have a weighted-average Moody's rating of A3 based on rated capacity under contract. Based on our current portfolio of assets, we do not expect to pay significant federal income tax for a period of approximately ten years. All of our assets are in the United States and accordingly we have no currency or repatriation risks. See "Risk FactorsTax RisksOur future tax liability may be greater than expected if we do not generate NOLs sufficient to offset taxable income" and "Risk FactorsTax RisksOur ability to use NOLs to offset future income may be limited."
High quality, long-lived assets with low operating and capital requirements. We benefit from a portfolio of relatively newly constructed assets, with all of our conventional and renewable assets either having achieved COD within the past four years or in the late stages of construction. Our assets are comprised of proven and reliable technologies, provided by leading original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") such as General Electric ("GE"), Siemens AG, SunPower Corporation ("SunPower") and First Solar Inc. ("First Solar"). Given the modern nature of our portfolio, which includes a substantial number of relatively low operating and maintenance cost solar generation assets, we expect to achieve high fleet availability and expend modest maintenance-related capital expenditures. Additionally, with the support of services provided by NRG, we expect to continue to implement the same rigorous preventative operating and management practices that NRG uses across its fleet of assets. In 2012,
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NRG achieved its best safety performance with a 0.52 OSHA recordable rate, well within the top decile plant operating performance for its entire fleet, based on applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") standards. We estimate our solar portfolio has a weighted average remaining expected life (based on rated MW) of approximately 29 years.
Significant scale and diversity. We are the owner and operator of a large and diverse portfolio of contracted electric generation and thermal infrastructure assets. Our 1,154 net MW contracted generation portfolio, consisting of eleven assets (two of which are in advanced stages of construction) and two distributed solar generation portfolios, benefits from significant diversification in terms of technology, fuel type, counterparty and geography. Our thermal business consists of eight Energy Centers and has over 550 steam and chilled water customers. We expect that our conventional and renewable generation and thermal infrastructure assets will contribute 40%, 45% and 15%, respectively, of cash available for distribution for the twelve month period ending June 30, 2015. We believe our scale and access to best practices across our fleet improves our business development opportunities through enhanced industry relationships, reputation and understanding of regional power market dynamics. Furthermore, our diversification reduces our operating risk profile and our reliance on any single market.
Our Relationship with NRG. We believe our relationship with NRG, including NRG's expressed intention to maintain a controlling interest in us, provides us with significant benefits, including management and operational expertise, and future growth opportunities. Our executive officers have considerable experience in owning and operating, as well as developing, acquiring and integrating, generation and thermal infrastructure assets, with on average over 15 years in the energy sector:
As discussed below in "Our Agreements with NRGROFO Agreement," we will enter into an agreement with NRG that will provide us with the right of first offer on five assets that if acquired would add approximately 1,249 MW of net capacity to our portfolio and significantly grow our cash available for distribution. We also expect to have the opportunity to acquire additional assets NRG develops or acquires in the future.
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Environmentally well-positioned portfolio of assets. On a net capacity basis, our portfolio of electric generation assets consists of 414 net MW of renewable generation capacity that are non-emitting sources of power generation. Our conventional assets consist of the dual fuel-fired (natural gas and oil) GenConn assets as well as the El Segundo combined cycle natural gas-fired generation facility. We do not anticipate having to expend any significant capital expenditures in the foreseeable future to comply with current environmental regulations applicable to our generation assets. Taken as a whole, we believe our strategy will be a net beneficiary of current and potential environmental legislation and regulatory requirements that may serve as a catalyst for capacity retirements and improve market opportunities for environmentally well-positioned assets like ours once our current offtake agreements expire.
Thermal infrastructure business has high entry costs. Significant capital has been invested to construct our thermal infrastructure assets, serving as a barrier to entry in the markets in which such assets operate. As of December 31, 2012, our thermal gross property plant and equipment was approximately $336 million. Our district energy centers are located in urban city areas, with our chilled water and steam delivery systems located underground. Constructing underground delivery systems in urban areas requires long lead times for permitting, rights of way and inspections and is costly. By contrast our incremental cost to add new customers in existing markets is relatively low.
Once we have established an Energy Center, we believe we have the ability to retain customers over long periods of time and to compete effectively for additional business against stand-alone on-site heating and cooling generation facilities. Installation of stand-alone equipment can require significant modification to a building as well as significant space for equipment and funding for capital expenditures. Our system technologies often provide economies of scale in terms of fuel procurement, ability to switch between multiple types of fuel to generate thermal energy, and fuel conversion efficiency. Our top ten thermal customers, which make up over 20% of our estimated revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, have had a relationship with us for on average over 20 years. We believe that the significant capital investment, long lead times for construction and expertise required to operate thermal assets constitute significant costs for new competitors. As a result of these high entry costs, in most of the urban areas in which we operate, we are the only third party provider of thermal energy.
Our Agreements with NRG
The following agreements will be entered into subsequent to negotiations between affiliated parties and, consequently, may not be as favorable to us as they might have been if we had negotiated them with an unaffiliated third party. For a more comprehensive discussion of the agreements that we have entered into with NRG and certain of its affiliates, please see "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions." For a discussion of the risks related to our relationship with NRG, please read "Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Relationship with NRG."
Management Services Agreement. Upon consummation of this offering, we will enter into the Management Services Agreement with NRG, as manager (the "Manager"), and certain of its affiliates under which NRG will provide or arrange for the provision of operation, management and administrative services to us and our subsidiaries. Pursuant to the Management Services Agreement, we will pay quarterly a base management fee equal to approximately $1 million to the Manager. The base management fee will be subject to an inflation based adjustment annually beginning on January 1, 2014 at an inflation factor based on the year-over-year U.S. consumer price index ("CPI"). It will also be subject to adjustments following the consummation of future acquisitions (in an amount equal to 0.05% of the enterprise value of the acquired assets as of the acquisition closing date) and as a result of a change in the scope of services provided under the Management Services Agreement. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsManagement Services Agreement." In addition, many of our assets have entered into operations and administrative agreements with affiliates of NRG for their
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operating and administrative needs, which will remain in effect after the consummation of this offering and which are described in "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsProject-Level Management and Administration Agreements."
ROFO Agreement. NRG has agreed to grant us a right of first offer on any proposed sale, transfer or other disposition of any of the NRG ROFO Assets for a period of five years following the completion of this offering. Under the terms of the ROFO Agreement, NRG will agree to negotiate with us in good faith, for a period of 30 days, to reach an agreement with respect to any proposed sale of an NRG ROFO Asset for which we have exercised our right of first offer. Under the ROFO Agreement, however, NRG will not be obligated to sell the NRG ROFO Assets and, therefore, we do not know when, if ever, these assets will be offered to us. In addition, in the event that NRG elects to sell such assets, NRG will not be required to accept any offer we make or, following the completion of good faith negotiations with us and subject to certain exceptions, may choose to sell the assets to a third party or not sell the assets at all. See "Certain Relationships and Related TransactionsRight of First Offer."
Conflicts of Interest. While our relationship with NRG and its subsidiaries is a significant strength, it is also a source of potential conflicts. As discussed above, NRG or certain of its affiliates will provide certain services to us, including with respect to carrying out our day-to-day management and providing individuals to act as our senior officers. These same senior officers may help our board of directors evaluate potential acquisition opportunities presented by NRG under the ROFO Agreement. Notwithstanding the significance of the services to be rendered by NRG or its designated affiliates on our behalf in accordance with the terms of the Management Services Agreement or of the assets which we may elect to acquire from NRG in accordance with the terms of the ROFO Agreement or otherwise, NRG will not owe fiduciary duties to us or our stockholders. Any material transaction between us and NRG (including the proposed acquisition of any NRG ROFO Asset) will be subject to our related party transaction policy, which will require prior approval of such transaction by our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee. Those of our executive officers who will continue to have economic interests in NRG following the completion of this offering may be conflicted when advising our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee or otherwise participating in the negotiation or approval of such transactions. See "Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Relationship with NRG" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsProcedures for Review, Approval and Ratification of Related-Person Transactions; Conflicts of Interest" and "ManagementCommittees of the Board of Directors-Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee" for a discussion of the risks associated with our organizational and ownership structure and corporate strategy for mitigating such risks.
Organizational Structure
Yieldco Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed on December 20, 2012 by NRG to own and operate a portfolio of power generation assets and thermal infrastructure assets that have historically been owned and/or operated by NRG and its subsidiaries.
Prior to the closing of this offering, through a series of transactions, NRG will contribute, or cause a subsidiary to contribute, the following assets to Yieldco Operating LLC in exchange for Yieldco LLC units (based on an initial public offering price of $ per share, midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) (collectively, the "Asset Transfer"):
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Valley"), (iii) the 21 rated MW Blythe Solar facility located in Riverside County, California ("Blythe"); (iv) the 26 rated MW Borrego Solar facility located in San Diego County, California ("Borrego"); and (v) the 20 rated MW Roadrunner Solar facility located in Dona Ana County, New Mexico ("Roadrunner");
After consummation of the Asset Transfer and prior to the closing of this offering:
Concurrently with the closing of this offering, based on an initial public offering price of $ per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus:
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NRG's existing membership units in Yieldco LLC will be reclassified as "Class B units" and will represent % (or approximately % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units immediately following this offering. In addition, we will issue to NRG a number of shares of our Class B common stock equal to the number of Class B units of Yieldco LLC held by NRG immediately following this offering in exchange for the payment by NRG of the aggregate par value of such shares. Each share of Class B common stock will entitle NRG to one vote on matters to be voted on by our stockholders generally. For more information regarding the terms of our common stock, see "Description of Capital Stock."
NRG may exchange its Class B units in Yieldco LLC for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to equitable adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications in accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement. When NRG exchanges a Class B unit of Yieldco LLC for a share of our Class A common stock: (i) we will issue NRG a share of our Class A common stock in exchange for the Class B unit; (ii) the Class B unit so exchanged will automatically convert into a Class A unit of Yieldco LLC issued to us; and (iii) we will automatically redeem and cancel a corresponding share of our Class B common stock. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsAmended and Restated Operating Agreement of Yieldco LLCExchange Agreement."
Immediately following the closing of this offering:
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and %, respectively, if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock);
We collectively refer to the aforementioned transactions described in this "Organizational Structure" section (including the Asset Transfer) as the "Organizational Structure."
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The following chart sets forth our ownership structure after giving effect to this offering:
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Material Tax Considerations
If we make distributions from current or accumulated earnings and profits, as computed for federal income tax purposes, such distributions will generally be taxable to holders of our Class A common stock in the current period as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. Under current law, such dividends would be eligible for the lower tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income of non-corporate taxpayers. If our distributions exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits as computed for federal income tax purposes, such excess distributions will constitute a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of a holder's basis in our Class A common stock and will result in a reduction of such basis. To the extent such excess exceeds a stockholder's basis in our Class A common stock, such excess will be taxed as capital gain. A "return of capital" represents a return of a stockholder's original investment in our shares. Upon the sale of our Class A common stock, a holder of such common stock generally will recognize capital gain or loss measured by the difference between the sale proceeds received by the stockholder and the stockholder's federal income tax basis in our Class A common stock sold, as adjusted to reflect prior distributions that are treated as return of capital. See "Risk FactorsTax RisksDistributions to our holders of our Class A common stock may be taxable as dividends." Based on our current portfolio of assets that we expect will benefit from an accelerated depreciation schedule, we expect to generate net operating losses ("NOLs") and NOL carryforwards that we can utilize to offset future taxable income. As such, we do not expect to pay significant federal income taxes for a period of approximately ten years. While we expect that a portion of our distribution to holders of our Class A common stock may exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits as computed for federal income tax purposes and therefore constitute a non-taxable return of capital distribution to the extent of a stockholder's basis in our Class A common stock, no assurance can be given that this will occur.
Risks Associated with our Business
We are subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects. You should carefully consider these risks, including the risks discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors," before investing in our Class A common stock. Risks related to our business include, among others:
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Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at NRG Yieldco, Inc., 211 Carnegie Center, Princeton, New Jersey. Our telephone number is . Our website will be located at http:www. . We intend to make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), available, free of charge, through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports and other information are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and does not constitute a part of this prospectus. The SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
JOBS Act
As a company with less than $1.0 billion in revenue during our last fiscal year, we qualify as an "emerging growth company," as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act"). Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Thus, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we are choosing to "opt out" of such extended transition period, and as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.
An emerging growth company may also take advantage of reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
We may take advantage of these provisions until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, which such fifth anniversary will occur in 2018. However, if certain events occur prior to the end of such five-year period, including if we become a "large accelerated filer," our annual gross revenues exceed $1.0 billion or we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, we will cease to be an emerging growth company prior to the end of such five-year period.
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and may elect to take advantage of other reduced burdens in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests.
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Shares of Class A common stock offered by us |
shares of our Class A common stock. | |
Shares of Class A common stock outstanding after this offering |
shares of our Class A common stock (or shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock). |
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Shares of Class B common stock outstanding after this offering |
shares of our Class B common stock (or shares of Class B common stock if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock). NRG will beneficially own all of our outstanding Class B common stock upon completion of this offering. |
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Class A units and Class B units of Yieldco LLC outstanding after this offering |
Class A units of Yieldco LLC and Class B units of Yieldco LLC (or Class A units and Class B units of Yieldco LLC if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock). |
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Option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock |
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional shares of our Class A common stock from us, at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus. We will use the proceeds from the exercise of such option to purchase additional shares of Yieldco LLC Class A units (which will be reclassified from Yieldco LLC Class B units) from NRG. Accordingly, we will not receive proceeds from any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares. |
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Use of proceeds |
We are offering the Class A common stock to be sold in this offering. Assuming no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, we expect to receive approximately $ million of net proceeds from the sale of the Class A common stock offered based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses. Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the public offering price would increase (decrease) our net proceeds by approximately $ million. We intend to use approximately $ million of the net proceeds from this offering to acquire newly issued Yieldco LLC Class A units, representing % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units, from Yieldco LLC. Yieldco LLC will use such net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including to fund approximately $ of our required capital contributions to pay for our portion of CVSR's construction costs. |
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We intend to use approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of the net proceeds of this offering to acquire Yieldco LLC Class A units (which will be reclassified from Yieldco LLC Class B units in connection with such acquisition), representing approximately % (or approximately % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership units, from NRG. NRG will not receive any of the net proceeds or other consideration in connection with this offering, other than the net proceeds used by Yieldco Inc. to purchase Yieldco LLC Class A units from NRG (as described in the prior sentence) and the Yieldco LLC units to be issued to NRG in the Asset Transfer (as described in "Organizational Structure"). |
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Voting rights |
Each share of our Class A common stock will entitle its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by stockholders generally. |
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Each share of our Class B common stock will entitle its holder to one vote on all maters to be voted on by stockholders generally. Through its ownership of our Class B common stock, NRG will hold shares of our common stock having % (or % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of the combined voting power of all of our common stock outstanding. As a result, for the foreseeable future following this offering, NRG will be able to exercise control over matters requiring the approval of our stockholders, including the election of our directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions. |
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Holders of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters presented to stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by law. See "Description of Capital Stock." |
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Economic interest |
Immediately following this offering, the purchasers in this offering will own in the aggregate a % economic interest in our business through our ownership of Class A units of Yieldco LLC and NRG will own in aggregate a % economic interest in our business through its ownership of Class B units of Yieldco LLC (or a % economic interest and a % economic interest, respectively, if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock). |
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Exchange and registration rights |
Each Class B unit of Yieldco LLC will be exchangeable for a share of our Class A common stock, subject to equitable adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications in accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement. When NRG exchanges a Class B unit of Yieldco LLC for a share of our Class A common stock, we will automatically redeem and cancel a corresponding share of our Class B common stock and the Class B unit will automatically convert into a Class A unit of Yieldco LLC issued to us. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party |
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TransactionsAmended and Restated Operating Agreement of Yieldco LLCExchange Agreement." |
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Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with NRG, we will agree to file a registration statement for the sale of the shares of our Class A common stock that are issuable upon exchange of Class B units of Yieldco LLC upon request and cause that registration statement to be declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") as soon as practicable thereafter. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsRegistration Rights Agreement" for a description of the timing and manner limitations on resales of these shares of our Class A common stock. |
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Cash dividends |
Upon completion of this offering, we intend to pay a regular quarterly dividend to holders of our Class A common stock. Our initial quarterly dividend will be set at $ per share of Class A common stock ($ per share on an annualized basis), which amount may be changed in the future without advance notice. Our ability to pay the regular quarterly dividend is subject to various restrictions and other factors described in more detail under the caption "Cash Dividend Policy." |
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We expect to pay a quarterly dividend on or about the 60th day following the expiration of each fiscal quarter to holders of our Class A common stock of record on the last day of such fiscal quarter. With respect to our first dividend payable on , 2013, we intend to pay a pro-rated dividend (calculated from the closing date of this offering through and including , 2013) of $ per share of Class A common stock. |
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We believe, based on our financial forecast and related assumptions included in "Cash Dividend PolicyEstimated Cash Available for Distribution for the Twelve Months Ending June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015," that we will generate sufficient cash available for distribution to support our initial quarterly dividend of $ per share of Class A common stock ($ per share on an annualized basis). However, we do not have a legal obligation to declare or pay dividends at such initial quarterly dividend level or at all. See "Cash Dividend Policy." |
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Material federal income tax consequences to non-U.S. holders. |
For a discussion of the material federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective investors who are non-U.S. holders, please read "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders." |
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FERC-related purchase restrictions |
No purchaser of Class A common stock in this offering will be permitted to purchase an amount of our Class A common stock that would cause such purchaser and its associate or affiliate companies in the aggregate to hold a large enough voting interest to convey direct or indirect "control" over any of Yieldco LLC's public utility subsidiaries. See "Notice to Investors." |
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Reserved Share Program |
At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to 5% of the shares of our Class A common stock offered hereby for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and certain other persons who are associated with us, through a reserved share program. If these persons purchase reserved shares, it will reduce the number of shares available for sale to the general public. Any reserved shares that are not purchased pursuant to the reserved share program will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other shares offered hereby. See "UnderwritingReserved Share Program." |
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Exchange listing |
We intend to apply for the listing of our Class A common stock on the NYSE under the symbol " ." |
The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on shares of our Class A common stock and shares of our Class B common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering based on an initial public offering price of $ per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, and excludes (i) shares of our Class A common stock which may be issued upon the exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock and the corresponding number of Class A units of Yieldco LLC that we would purchase from Yieldco LLC with the net proceeds therefrom; (ii) shares of our Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon the subsequent exchange of Class B units of Yieldco LLC that will be outstanding immediately after this offering; and (iii) shares of our Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity-based compensation plans.
Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus also assumes:
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SUMMARY HISTORICAL AND PRO FORMA FINANCIAL DATA
The following table shows summary historical and pro forma financial data at the dates and for the periods indicated. The summary historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been derived from the audited combined financial statements of our accounting predecessor included elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are intended to represent the financial results of NRG's contracted renewable energy, natural gas and dual-fired electric generation assets and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States that will be contributed to Yieldco LLC as part of the Asset Transfer for those periods. The summary historical financial data is not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in future periods.
The summary unaudited pro forma financial data have been derived by the application of pro forma adjustments to the historical combined financial statements of our accounting predecessor included elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary unaudited pro forma statements of income data for the year ended December 31, 2012 gives effect to the Organizational Structure (as described under "SummaryOrganizational Structure") and the use of the estimated net proceeds from this offering as if they had occurred on January 1, 2012. The summary unaudited pro forma balance sheet data as of December 31, 2012 gives effect to the Organizational Structure, this offering and the use of the estimated net proceeds therefrom as if each had occurred on such date. See "Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Financial Statements" for additional information. As described in "SummaryOrganizational Structure," Yieldco Inc. will own approximately % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership interests after consummation of the Organizational Structure.
The following tables should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the historical combined financial statements and the accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Among other things, the historical combined financial statements include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the information in the following table. The table should also be read together with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsManagement Services Agreement." Our summary unaudited pro forma financial data is presented for informational purposes only. The pro forma adjustments are based upon available information and certain assumptions that we believe are reasonable. Our summary unaudited pro forma financial information does not purport to represent what our results of operations or financial position would have been if we operated as a public company during the periods presented and may not be indicative of our future performance.
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The financial statements of Yieldco Inc. have not been presented in this prospectus as it is a newly incorporated entity, had no business transactions or activities to date and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this section.
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Pro Forma | |||||||||
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Fiscal Year Ended December 31, |
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Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012 |
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2010 | 2011 | 2012 | ||||||||||
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(in millions) |
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Statement of Income Data: |
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Operating Revenues: |
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Total operating revenues |
$ | 143 | $ | 164 | $ | 175 | $ | ||||||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
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Cost of operations |
97 | 104 | 108 | ||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
16 | 22 | 25 | ||||||||||
General and administrative(1) |
10 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
123 | 138 | 146 | ||||||||||
Operating Income |
20 | 26 | 29 | ||||||||||
Other Income/Expense |
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Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates(2) |
1 | 13 | 19 | ||||||||||
Other income |
3 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
Interest expense |
(13 | ) | (19 | ) | (28 | ) | |||||||
Total other expense |
(9 | ) | (4 | ) | (7 | ) | |||||||
(Loss)/Income Before Income Taxes |
11 | 22 | 22 | ||||||||||
Income tax expense |
4 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 7 | $ | 14 | $ | 13 | $ | ||||||
Less net income attributable to non controlling interest |
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Net income attributable to Yieldco Inc. |
$ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Other Financial Data: |
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Adjusted EBITDA(3) |
$ | 40 | $ | 78 | $ | 97 | |||||||
Capital expenditure |
(65 | ) | (372 | ) | (558 | ) | |||||||
Cash Flow Data: |
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Net cash provided by (used in): |
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Operating activities |
$ | 44 | $ | 35 | $ | 50 | |||||||
Investing activities |
(200 | ) | (466 | ) | (587 | ) | |||||||
Financing activities |
170 | 423 | 535 | ||||||||||
Balance Sheet Data (at period end): |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 32 | $ | 24 | $ | 22 | |||||||
Property and equipment, net |
526 | 863 | 1,511 | ||||||||||
Total assets |
787 | 1,239 | 1,921 | ||||||||||
Total liabilities |
594 | 672 | 1,076 | ||||||||||
Total equity |
193 | 567 | 845 |
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We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income less interest income and equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates before net interest expense, income taxes and depreciation, amortization and accretion, as adjusted for contract amortization, pro-rata adjusted earnings before interest expense, depreciation, amortization and income taxes from our unconsolidated affiliates, mark-to-market gains or losses, asset write offs and impairments and factors that we do not consider indicative of future operating performance. We collectively group together equity earnings in unconsolidated affiliates and the pro-rata adjusted earnings before interest expense, depreciation, amortization and income taxes from our unconsolidated affiliates and refer to these amounts as adjustments to reflect our pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because:
Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations include:
Investors
are encouraged to evaluate each adjustment and the reasons we consider it appropriate for supplemental analysis.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income:
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Fiscal Year Ended December 31, |
Pro Forma | |||||||||||
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Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012 |
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2010 | 2011 | 2012 | ||||||||||
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Net income |
$ | 7 | $ | 14 | $ | 13 | $ | ||||||
Less: |
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Interest income |
(3 | ) | (2 | ) | (2 | ) | |||||||
Add: |
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Depreciation, amortization and accretion |
16 | 22 | 25 | ||||||||||
Interest expense |
13 | 19 | 28 | ||||||||||
Income tax expense |
4 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||
Contract amortization |
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(1 | ) | (13 | ) | (19 | ) | |||||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates(a) |
4 | 29 | 42 | ||||||||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates(b) |
3 | 16 | 23 | ||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA(c) |
$ |
40 |
$ |
78 |
$ |
97 |
$ |
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This offering and an investment in our Class A common stock involve a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with the financial and other information contained in this prospectus, before you decide to purchase shares of our Class A common stock. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment in our Class A common stock.
Risks Related to Our Business
Certain of our facilities are newly constructed or are under construction and may not perform as we expect.
CVSR (including the portion of CVSR that constitutes an NRG ROFO Asset), El Segundo and the Dover conversion are under construction, and our expectations of the operating performance of these facilities are based on assumptions and estimates made without the benefit of operating history. Additionally, the Avra Valley solar facility reached COD in December 2012. All of our conventional and renewable assets are either in their late stages of construction or have achieved COD within the past 5 years. Thus, our projections with respect to these facilities, and related estimates and assumptions, are based on limited or no operating history. Projections contained in this prospectus regarding our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock assume newly constructed facilities and facilities under construction perform to our expectation. However, the ability of these facilities to meet our performance expectations is subject to the risks inherent in newly constructed power generation facilities and the construction of such facilities, including, but not limited to, degradation of equipment in excess of our expectations, system failures, and outages. The failure of these facilities to perform as we expect, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to our cash dividend policy, we intend to distribute all or substantially all of our cash available for distribution to holders of our Class A common stock through a regular quarterly dividend, and our ability to grow and make acquisitions through cash on hand could be limited.
As discussed in "Cash Dividend Policy," our dividend policy is to distribute all or substantially all of our cash available for distribution each quarter and to rely primarily upon external financing sources, including the issuance of debt and equity securities and, if applicable, borrowings under our new revolving credit facility, to fund our acquisitions and growth capital expenditures. We may be precluded from pursuing otherwise attractive acquisitions if the projected short-term cash flow from the acquisition or investment is not adequate to service the capital raised to fund the acquisition or investment, after giving effect to our available cash reserves. See "Cash Dividend PolicyGeneralOur Ability to Grow our Business and Dividend."
We intend to cause Yieldco LLC to make regular quarterly cash distributions to its members in an amount equal to the cash available for distribution generated during a given quarter, which will be calculated net of reserves for the prudent conduct of our business, and to use the amount distributed to us to pay regular quarterly dividends to holders of our Class A common stock. As such, our growth may not be as fast as that of businesses that reinvest their available cash to expand ongoing operations. To the extent we issue additional equity securities in connection with any acquisitions or growth capital expenditures, the payment of dividends on these additional equity securities may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per share dividend. There will be no limitations in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on our ability to issue equity securities, including securities ranking senior to our common stock. The incurrence of bank borrowings or other debt by Yieldco Operating LLC or by our project-level subsidiaries to finance our growth strategy will result in increased interest expense and the imposition of additional or more restrictive covenants, which, in
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turn, may impact the cash distributions we receive to distribute to holders of our Class A common stock.
We may not be able to effectively identify or consummate any future acquisitions on favorable terms, or at all.
Our business strategy includes growth through the acquisitions of additional generation assets (including through corporate acquisitions). This strategy depends on our ability to successfully identify and evaluate acquisition opportunities and consummate acquisitions on favorable terms. However, the number of acquisition opportunities is limited. In addition, we will compete with other companies for these limited acquisition opportunities, which may increase our cost of making acquisitions or cause us to refrain from making acquisitions at all. Some of our competitors for acquisitions are much larger than us with substantially greater resources. These companies may be able to pay more for acquisitions and may be able to identify, evaluate, bid for and purchase a greater number of assets than our financial or human resources permit. If we are unable to identify and consummate future acquisitions, it will impede our ability to execute our growth strategy and limit our ability to increase the amount of dividends paid to holders of our Class A common stock.
Furthermore, our ability to acquire future renewable facilities may depend on the viability of renewable assets generally. These assets currently are largely contingent on public policy mechanisms including investment tax credits ("ITCs"), cash grants, loan guarantees, accelerated depreciation, RPS and carbon trading plans, as discussed in "BusinessGovernment Incentives." These mechanisms have been implemented at the state and federal levels to support the development of renewable generation, demand-side and smart grid and other clean infrastructure technologies. The availability and continuation of public policy support mechanisms will drive a significant part of the economics and viability of our growth strategy and expansion into clean energy investments.
Our ability to effectively consummate future acquisitions will also depend on our ability to arrange the required or desired financing for acquisitions. We may not have sufficient availability under our credit facilities or have access to project-level financing on commercially reasonably terms when acquisition opportunities arise. An inability to obtain the required or desired financing could significantly limit our ability to consummate future acquisitions and effectuate our growth strategy. If financing is available, utilization of our credit facilities or project-level financing for all or a portion of the purchase price of an acquisition could significantly increase our interest expense, impose additional or more restrictive covenants and reduce cash available for distribution to pay dividends. Similarly, the issuance of additional equity securities as consideration for acquisitions could cause significant stockholder dilution and reduce our per share cash available for distribution if the acquisitions are not sufficiently accretive.
Finally, the acquisition of companies and assets are subject to substantial risks, including the failure to identify material problems during due diligence (for which we may not be indemnified post-closing), the risk of over-paying for assets (or not making acquisitions on an accretive basis) and the ability to retain customers. Further, the integration and consolidation of acquisitions requires substantial human, financial and other resources and, ultimately, our acquisitions may divert management's attention from our existing business concerns, disrupt our ongoing business or not be successfully integrated. There can be no assurances that any future acquisitions will perform as expected or that the returns from such acquisitions will support the financing utilized to acquire them or maintain them. As a result, the consummation of acquisitions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock
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Our indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or pay dividends. It could also expose us to the risk of increased interest rates and limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry as well as impact our cash available for distribution.
As of December 31, 2012, we had approximately $767 million of total indebtedness and $430 million of borrowing capacity available under various project-level financing arrangements. In addition, our share of our unconsolidated affiliates' total indebtedness and letters of credit outstanding as of December 31, 2012 totaled approximately $558 million and $27 million, respectively (calculated as our unconsolidated affiliates' total indebtedness as of such date multiplied by our percentage membership interest in such assets). We also expect to have, after giving effect to this offering, $ million available for future borrowings under our new revolving credit facility as of such date. In addition, we had $55 million of letters of credit outstanding as well as approximately $8 million in letters of credit posted by NRG on our behalf related to Borrego as of December 31, 2012 to support contracted obligations at our project-level entities. Approximately $741 million of our existing indebtedness is incurred at the project level. Our substantial debt could have important negative consequences on our financial condition, including:
Our new revolving credit facility may contain financial and other restrictive covenants that limit our ability to return capital to stockholders or otherwise engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. Our inability to satisfy certain financial covenants could prevent our paying cash dividends, and our failure to comply with those and other covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, may entitle the related lenders to demand repayment or enforce their security interests, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, failure to comply with such covenants may entitle the related lenders to demand repayment and accelerate all such indebtedness.
The agreements governing our project-level financing contain financial and other restrictive covenants that limit our project subsidiaries' ability to make distributions to us or otherwise engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. The project-level financing agreements generally prohibit distributions from the project entities to us unless certain specific conditions are met, including the satisfaction of certain financial ratios. In addition, the project-level financing for our facilities under
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construction prohibits distributions until such facility reaches COD. Our inability to satisfy certain financial covenants may prevent cash distributions by the particular project(s) to us and, our failure to comply with those and other covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived may entitle the related lenders to demand repayment or enforce their security interests, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, failure to comply with such covenants may entitle the related lenders to demand repayment and accelerate all such indebtedness. If we are unable to make distributions from our project-level subsidiaries, it would likely have a material adverse effect on our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.
Letter of credit facilities to support project-level contractual obligations generally need to be renewed after five to seven years, at which time we will need to satisfy applicable financial ratios and covenants. If we are unable to renew our letters of credit as expected or replace them with letters of credit under different facilities on favorable terms or at all, we may experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, such inability may constitute a default under certain project-level financing arrangements, restrict the ability of the project-level subsidiary to make distributions to us and/or reduce the amount of cash available at such subsidiary to make distributions to us.
In addition, our ability to arrange financing, either at the corporate level or at a non-recourse project-level subsidiary, and the costs of such capital, are dependent on numerous factors, including:
We may not be successful in obtaining additional capital for these or other reasons. Furthermore, we may be unable to refinance or replace project-level financing arrangements or other credit facilities on favorable terms or at all upon the expiration or termination thereof. Our failure, or the failure of any of our projects, to obtain additional capital or enter into new or replacement financing arrangements when due may constitute a default under such existing indebtedness and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The generation of electric energy from solar and wind energy sources depends heavily on suitable meteorological conditions. If solar or wind conditions are unfavorable, our electricity generation, and therefore revenue from our renewable generation facilities using our systems, may be substantially below our expectations.
The electricity produced and revenues generated by a solar electric or wind energy generation facility is highly dependent on suitable solar or wind conditions, as applicable, and associated weather conditions, which are beyond our control. Furthermore, components of our system, such as solar panels and inverters, could be damaged by severe weather, such as hailstorms or tornadoes. In addition, replacement and spare parts for key components may be difficult or costly to acquire or may be unavailable. Unfavorable weather and atmospheric conditions could impair the effectiveness of our assets or reduce their output beneath their rated capacity or require shutdown of key equipment,
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impeding operation of our renewable assets and our ability to achieve forecasted revenues and cash flows.
We base our investment decisions with respect to each renewable generation facility on the findings of related wind and solar studies conducted on-site prior to construction or based on historical conditions at existing facilities. However, actual climatic conditions at a facility site, particularly wind conditions, may not conform to the findings of these studies and therefore, our solar and wind energy facilities may not meet anticipated production levels or the rated capacity of our generation assets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows.
Operation of electric generation facilities involves significant risks and hazards customary to the power industry that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We may not have adequate insurance to cover these risks and hazards.
The ongoing operation of our facilities involves risks that include the breakdown or failure of equipment or processes or performance below expected levels of output or efficiency due to wear and tear, latent defect, design error or operator error or force majeure events, among other things. Operation of our facilities also involves risks that we will be unable to transport our product to our customers in an efficient manner due to a lack of transmission capacity. Unplanned outages of generating units, including extensions of scheduled outages due to mechanical failures or other problems, occur from time to time and are an inherent risk of our business. Unplanned outages typically increase our operation and maintenance expenses and may reduce our revenues as a result of selling fewer MWh or require us to incur significant costs as a result of obtaining replacement power from third parties in the open market to satisfy our forward power sales obligations.
Our inability to operate our electric generation assets efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs and generate earnings and cash flow from our asset-based businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. While we maintain insurance, obtain warranties from vendors and obligate contractors to meet certain performance levels, the proceeds of such insurance, warranties or performance guarantees may not cover our lost revenues, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments should we experience equipment breakdown or non-performance by contractors or vendors.
Power generation involves hazardous activities, including acquiring, transporting and unloading fuel, operating large pieces of rotating equipment and delivering electricity to transmission and distribution systems. In addition to natural risks such as earthquake, flood, lightning, hurricane and wind, other hazards, such as fire, explosion, structural collapse and machinery failure are inherent risks in our operations. These and other hazards can cause significant personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property, plant and equipment and contamination of, or damage to, the environment and suspension of operations. The occurrence of any one of these events may result in our being named as a defendant in lawsuits asserting claims for substantial damages, including for environmental cleanup costs, personal injury and property damage and fines and/or penalties. We maintain an amount of insurance protection that we consider adequate but we cannot provide any assurance that our insurance will be sufficient or effective under all circumstances and against all hazards or liabilities to which we may be subject. Furthermore, our insurance coverage is subject to deductibles, caps, exclusions and other limitations. A loss for which we are not fully insured (which may include a significant judgment against any facility or facility operator) could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Further, due to rising insurance costs and changes in the insurance markets, we cannot provide any assurance that our insurance coverage will continue to be available at all or at rates or on terms similar to those presently available. Any losses not covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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We may incur additional costs or delays in completing the construction of certain of our electric and thermal generation facilities, and may not be able to recover our investment in or complete such facilities.
As of the date of this prospectus, CVSR and El Segundo were under construction. In addition, we intend to complete the conversion of our Dover thermal facility. Our failure to complete these facilities in a timely manner, or at all, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay dividends. The construction and modification of power generation facilities involves many risks including:
Any of these risks could cause our financial returns on these investments to be lower than expected or otherwise delay the timely completion of such facilities or distribution of cash to us, or could cause us to operate below expected capacity or availability levels, which could result in lost revenues, increased expenses, higher maintenance costs and penalties. Any such delay could also jeopardize our ability to pay our regular quarterly cash dividend. See "Cash Dividend PolicyAssumptions and ConsiderationsGeneral Considerations."
In the event these facilities do not achieve commercial operation by their expected dates, they may be subject to increased construction costs associated with the continuing accrual of interest on their construction loans, which customarily mature at the start of commercial operations and converts to a term loan. A delay in the completion of construction of these facilities may trigger negative consequences under the related offtake agreements, including penalty provisions for a delay in achieving COD or in situations of extreme delay or termination. Insurance is maintained to protect against these risks, warranties are generally obtained for limited periods relating to the construction of each facility and its equipment in varying degrees, and contractors and equipment suppliers are obligated to meet certain performance levels. The insurance, warranties or performance guarantees, however, may not be adequate to cover increased expenses. As a result, these facilities may cost more than projected and may be unable to fund principal and interest payments under their construction financing obligations, if any. A default under such a financing obligation could result in losing our interest in the related power generation facility.
Furthermore, where we have a relationship with a third party to complete construction of these facilities, we are subject to the viability and performance of the third party. Our inability to find a replacement contracting party, where the original contracting party has failed to perform, could result in the abandonment of the construction of such facility, while we could remain obligated on other agreements associated with the facility, including offtake agreements.
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If we are unable to complete the construction of these facilities, we may not be able to recover our related investment. Furthermore, if these construction projects are not completed according to specification, we may incur liabilities and suffer reduced plant efficiency, higher operating costs and reduced net income or cash flows.
Maintenance, expansion and refurbishment of electric generation facilities involve significant risks that could result in unplanned power outages or reduced output.
Our facilities may require periodic upgrading and improvement. Any unexpected operational or mechanical failure, including failure associated with breakdowns and forced outages, could reduce our facilities' generating capacity below expected levels, reducing our revenues and jeopardizing our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock at forecasted levels or at all. Degradation of the performance of our solar facilities above levels provided for in the related offtake agreements may also reduce our revenues. Unanticipated capital expenditures associated with maintaining, upgrading or repairing our facilities may also reduce profitability.
If we make any major modifications to our conventional power generation facilities, we may be required to install the best available control technology or to achieve the lowest achievable emission rates as such terms are defined under the new source review provisions of the federal Clean Air Act (the "CAA") in the future. Any such modifications could likely result in substantial additional capital expenditures. We may also choose to repower, refurbish or upgrade our facilities based on our assessment that such activity will provide adequate financial returns. Such facilities require time for development and capital expenditures before commencement of commercial operations, and key assumptions underpinning a decision to make such an investment may prove incorrect, including assumptions regarding construction costs, timing, available financing and future fuel and power prices. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Counterparties to our offtake agreements may not fulfill their obligations and, as our contracts expire, we may not be able to replace them with agreements on similar terms in light of increasing competition in the markets in which we operate.
A significant portion of the electric power we generate is sold under long-term offtake agreements with public utilities or industrial or commercial end-users, with a weighted average remaining duration of approximately 17 years (based on net capacity under contract). As of December 31, 2012, the largest customers of our power generation assets, including assets in which we have less than a 100% membership interest, were CL&P, American Electric Power and PG&E, which represented 42%, 22% and 19% respectively, of the net electric generation capacity of our facilities. Upon completion of our El Segundo and CVSR facilities, when all of our assets are online, the largest customers of our power generation facilities will be SCE, PG&E and CL&P, representing 50%, 18% and 17%, respectively, of the net electric generation capacity of our facilities.
If, for any reason, any of the purchasers of power under these agreements are unable or unwilling to fulfill their related contractual obligations or if they refuse to accept delivery of power delivered thereunder or if they otherwise terminate such agreements prior to the expiration thereof, our assets, liabilities, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, to the extent any of our power purchasers are, or are controlled by, governmental entities, our facilities may be subject to legislative or other political action that may impair their contractual performance.
The power generation industry is characterized by intense competition and our electric generation assets encounter competition from utilities, industrial companies and other independent power producers, in particular with respect to uncontracted output. In recent years, there has been
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increasing competition among generators for offtake agreements and this has contributed to a reduction in electricity prices in certain markets characterized by excess supply above designated reserve margins. In light of these market conditions, we may not be able to replace an expiring or terminated agreement with an agreement on equivalent terms and conditions, including at prices that permit operation of the related facility on a profitable basis. In addition, we believe many of our competitors have well-established relationships with our current and potential suppliers, lenders, customers and have extensive knowledge of our target markets. As a result, these competitors may be able to respond more quickly to evolving industry standards and changing customer requirements than we will be able to. Adoption of technology more advanced than ours could reduce our competitors' power production costs resulting in their having a lower cost structure than is achievable with the technologies we currently employ and adversely affect our ability to compete for offtake agreement renewals. If we are unable to replace an expiring or terminated offtake agreement, the affected facility may temporarily or permanently cease operations. External events, such as a severe economic downturn, could also impair the ability of some counterparties to our offtake agreements and other customer agreements to pay for energy and/or other products and services received.
Finally, potential or existing Energy Center customers may opt for on-site systems in lieu of using our Energy Center, either due to corporate policies regarding the allocation of capital, unique situations where an on-site system might in fact prove more efficient, or because of previously committed capital in systems that are already on-site.
Our inability to enter into new or replacement offtake agreements or to compete successfully against current and future competitors in the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Certain of our thermal generation assets operate, wholly or partially, without long-term power sale agreements.
Our Dover and Paxton thermal generation assets have 118 net MW of generation capacity that have been sold through May 2016 in the annual Base Residual Auction ("BRA") under the PJM-administered RPM. Capacity revenue beginning in June 2016 is not yet determined. These facilities do not have offtake agreements for energy sales and sell energy through NRG Power Marketing, an NRG affiliate, into the bid-based auction market for energy administered by PJM based on economic dispatch of their units. If we are unable to sell available capacity from those facilities beginning in June 2016 through the BRA or one of the other RPM capacity auctions or we are unable to enter into a offtake agreement or otherwise sell unallocated or unsold capacity at favorable terms, there may be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
A portion of the steam and chilled water produced by our thermal assets and the energy produced by our GenConn assets is sold at regulated rates and the profitability of these assets is dependent on regulatory rate approval.
Approximately 395 net MWt of capacity from certain of our thermal assets and 190 net MW of capacity from our GenConn assets are sold at rates approved by one or more federal or state regulatory commissions, including the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the California Public Utility Commission for the thermal assets and the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control for the GenConn assets. While such regulation is generally premised on the recovery of prudently incurred costs and a reasonable rate of return on invested capital, the rates that we may charge with respect to this capacity are subject to authorization of the applicable regulatory authorities. There can be no assurance that such regulatory authorities will consider all of our costs to have been prudently incurred or that the regulatory process by which rates are determined will always result in rates that achieve full recovery of our costs or an adequate return on our capital investments. While our rates are generally regulated based on an analysis of our costs incurred in a base year, the rates we are allowed
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to charge may or may not match our costs at any given time. If our costs are not adequately recovered through rates, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Supplier concentration at certain of our facilities may expose us to significant financial credit or performance risks.
We often rely on a single contracted supplier or a small number of suppliers for the provision of fuel, transportation of fuel, equipment, technology and/or other services required for the operation of certain of our facilities. In addition, certain of our suppliers provide long-term warranties with respect to the performance of their products or services. If any of these suppliers cannot perform under their agreements with us, or satisfy their related warranty obligations, we will need to utilize the marketplace to provide or repair these products and services. There can be no assurance that the marketplace can provide these products and services as, when and where required. We may not be able to enter into replacement agreements on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to enter into replacement agreements to provide for fuel, equipment, technology and other required services, we would seek to purchase the related goods or services at market prices, exposing us to market price volatility and the risk that fuel and transportation may not be available during certain periods at any price. We may also be required to make significant capital contributions to remove, replace or redesign equipment that cannot be supported or maintained by replacement suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, credit support terms and cash flows.
The failure of any supplier or customer to fulfill its contractual obligations to us could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Consequently, the financial performance of our facilities is dependent on the credit quality of, and continued performance by, our suppliers and vendors.
We currently own, and in the future may acquire, certain assets in which we have limited control over management decisions and our interests in such assets may be subject to transfer or other related restrictions.
We have limited control over the operation of GenConn, Avenal and CVSR because we beneficially own 49.95%, 49.95% and 48.95%, respectively, of the membership interests in such assets. We may seek to acquire additional assets in which we own less than a majority of the related membership interests in the future. In these investments, we will seek to exert a degree of influence with respect to the management and operation of assets in which we own less than a majority of the membership interests by negotiating to obtain positions on management committees or to receive certain limited governance rights, such as rights to veto significant actions. However, we may not always succeed in such negotiations. We may be dependent on our co-venturers to operate such assets. Our co-venturers may not have the level of experience, technical expertise, human resources management and other attributes necessary to operate these assets optimally. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise in the future between our company and our stockholders, on the one hand, and our co-venturers, on the other hand, where our co-venturers' business interests are inconsistent with our interests and those of our stockholders. Further, disagreements or disputes between us and our co-venturers could result in litigation, which could increase our expenses and potentially limit the time and effort our officers and directors are able to devote to our business.
The approval of co-venturers also may be required for us to receive distributions of funds from assets or to sell, pledge, transfer, assign or otherwise convey our interest in such assets, or for us to acquire NRG's interests in such co-ventures as an initial matter. Alternatively, our co-venturers may have rights of first refusal or rights of first offer in the event of a proposed sale or transfer of our interests in such assets. These restrictions may limit the price or interest level for our interests in such assets, in the event we want to sell such interests.
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Furthermore, certain of our facilities, including Alpine, Avra Valley, Blythe and Roadrunner, are operated by third-party operators, such as First Solar. To the extent that third-party operators do not fulfill their obligations to manage operations of the facilities or are not effective in doing so, the amount of cash available for distribution to holders of our Class A common stock may be adversely affected.
Our assets are exposed to risks inherent in our use of interest rate swaps and forward fuel purchase contracts and we may be exposed to additional risks in the future if we utilize other derivative instruments.
We use interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risk. In addition, we use forward fuel purchase contracts to hedge our limited commodity exposure with respect to our district energy assets. If we elect to enter into such commodity hedges, the related asset could recognize financial losses on these arrangements as a result of volatility in the market values of the underlying commodities or if a counterparty fails to perform under a contract. If actively quoted market prices and pricing information from external sources are not available, the valuation of these contracts would involve judgment or the use of estimates. As a result, changes in the underlying assumptions or use of alternative valuation methods could affect the reported fair value of these contracts. If the values of these financial contracts change in a manner that we do not anticipate, or if a counterparty fails to perform under a contract, it could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business is subject to restrictions resulting from environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.
We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. In addition, we may be held primarily or jointly and severally liable for costs relating to the investigation and clean-up of any property where there has been a release or threatened release of a hazardous regulated material as well as other affected properties, regardless of whether we knew of or caused the release. In addition to these costs, which are typically not limited by law or regulation and could exceed an affected property's value, we could be liable for certain other costs, including governmental fines and injuries to persons, property or natural resources. Further, some environmental laws provide for the creation of a lien on a contaminated site in favor of the government as security for damages and any costs the government incurs in connection with such contamination and associated clean-up. Although we generally require our operators to undertake to indemnify us for environmental liabilities they cause, the amount of such liabilities could exceed the financial ability of the operator to indemnify us. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination may adversely affect our ability to operate our business.
We do not own all of the land on which our power generation or thermal assets are located, which could result in disruption to our operations.
We do not own all of the land on which our power generation or thermal assets are located and we are, therefore, subject to the possibility of less desirable terms and increased costs to retain necessary land use if we do not have valid leases or rights-of-way or if such rights-of-way lapse or terminate. Although we have obtained rights to construct and operate these assets pursuant to related lease arrangements, our rights to conduct those activities are subject to certain exceptions, including the term of the lease arrangement. Our loss of these rights, through our inability to renew right-of-way contracts or otherwise, may adversely affect our ability to operate our generation and thermal infrastructure assets.
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Our electric generation business will be subject to substantial governmental regulation and may be adversely affected by changes in laws or regulations, as well as liability under, or any future inability to comply with, existing or future regulations or other legal requirements.
Our electric generation business will be subject to extensive U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulation. Compliance with the requirements under these various regulatory regimes may cause us to incur significant additional costs, and failure to comply with such requirements could result in the shutdown of the non-complying facility, the imposition of liens, fines, and/or civil or criminal liability.
Public utilities under the FPA are required to obtain FERC acceptance of their rate schedules for wholesale sales of electric energy, capacity and ancillary services. Except for generating facilities within the footprint of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ("ERCOT"), which are regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (the "PUCT"), all of the assets acquired in the Asset Transfer make wholesale sales of electric energy, capacity and ancillary services in interstate commerce and are public utilities for purposes of the FPA, unless otherwise exempt from such status (see below). The FERC's orders that grant such wholesale sellers market-based rate authority reserve the right to revoke or revise that authority if the FERC subsequently determines that the seller can exercise market power in transmission or generation, create barriers to entry, or engage in abusive affiliate transactions. In addition, public utilities are subject to FERC reporting requirements that impose administrative burdens and that, if violated, can expose the company to criminal and civil penalties or other risks.
Our market-based sales will be subject to certain market behavior rules, and if any of our generating companies are deemed to have violated those rules, we will be subject to potential disgorgement of profits associated with the violation, penalties, suspension or revocation of market-based rate authority. If such generating companies were to lose their market-based rate authority, such companies would be required to obtain the FERC's acceptance of a cost-of-service rate schedule and could become subject to the significant accounting, record-keeping, and reporting requirements that are imposed on utilities with cost- based rate schedules. This could have a material adverse effect on the rates we are able to charge for power from our facilities.
Most of our assets are operating as "Exempt Wholesale Generators," as defined under the PUHCA, or "Qualifying Facilities," as defined under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, as amended, and therefore are exempt from certain regulation under PUHCA. If a facility fails to maintain its status as an Exempt Wholesale Generator or a Qualifying Facility or there are legislative or regulatory changes revoking or limiting the exemptions to PUHCA, then we may be subject to significant accounting, record-keeping, access to books and records and reporting requirements and failure to comply with such requirements could result in the imposition of penalties and additional compliance obligations.
Substantially all of our generation assets are also subject to the reliability standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation ("NERC"). If we fail to comply with the mandatory reliability standards, we could be subject to sanctions, including substantial monetary penalties and increased compliance obligations.
We will also be affected by legislative and regulatory changes, as well as changes to market design, market rules, tariffs, cost allocations, and bidding rules that occur in the existing regional markets operated by Regional Transmission Organizations ("RTOs") or Independent System Operators ("ISOs"), such as PJM. The RTOs/ISOs that oversee most of the wholesale power markets impose, and in the future may continue to impose, mitigation, including price limitations, offer caps, and other mechanisms to address some of the volatility and the potential exercise of market power in these markets. These types of price limitations and other regulatory mechanisms may have a material adverse effect on the profitability of our generation facilities acquired in the future that sell energy, capacity and ancillary products into the wholesale power markets.
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The regulatory environment for electric generation has undergone significant changes in the last several years due to state and federal policies affecting wholesale competition and the creation of incentives for the addition of large amounts of new renewable generation and, in some cases, transmission assets. These changes are ongoing and we cannot predict the future design of the wholesale power markets or the ultimate effect that the changing regulatory environment will have on our business. In addition, in some of these markets, interested parties have proposed material market design changes, including the elimination of a single clearing price mechanism, as well as proposals to re-regulate the markets or require divestiture of electric generation assets by asset owners or operators to reduce their market share. Other proposals to re-regulate may be made and legislative or other attention to the electric power market restructuring process may delay or reverse the deregulation process. If competitive restructuring of the electric power markets is reversed, discontinued, or delayed, our business prospects and financial results could be negatively impacted.
We are subject to environmental laws and regulations that impose extensive and increasingly stringent requirements on our operations, as well as potentially substantial liabilities arising out of environmental contamination.
Our assets are subject to numerous and significant federal, state and local laws, including statutes, regulations, guidelines, policies, directives and other requirements governing or relating to, among other things: protection of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; air emissions; discharges into water; water use; the storage, handling, use, transportation and distribution of dangerous goods and hazardous, residual and other regulated materials, such as chemicals; the prevention of releases of hazardous materials into the environment; the prevention, presence and remediation of hazardous materials in soil and groundwater, both on and offsite; land use and zoning matters; and workers' health and safety matters. Our facilities could experience incidents, malfunctions and other unplanned events that could result in spills or emissions in excess of permitted levels and result in personal injury, penalties and property damage. As such, the operation of our facilities carries an inherent risk of environmental, health and safety liabilities (including potential civil actions, compliance or remediation orders, fines and other penalties), and may result in the assets being involved from time to time in administrative and judicial proceedings relating to such matters. We have implemented environmental, health and safety management programs designed to continually improve environmental, health and safety performance.
Environmental laws and regulations have generally become more stringent over time, and we expect this trend to continue. Significant costs may be incurred for capital expenditures under environmental programs to keep the assets compliant with such environmental laws and regulations. If it is not economical to make those expenditures, it may be necessary to retire or mothball facilities or restrict or modify our operations to comply with more stringent standards. These environmental requirements and liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks that are beyond our control, including but not limited to acts of terrorism or related acts of war, natural disaster, hostile cyber intrusions or other catastrophic events, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our generation facilities that we acquired in the Asset Transfer or those that we otherwise acquire or construct and the facilities of third parties on which they rely may be targets of terrorist activities, as well as events occurring in response to or in connection with them, that could cause environmental repercussions and/or result in full or partial disruption of the facilities ability to generate, transmit, transport or distribute electricity or natural gas. Strategic targets, such as energy-related facilities, may be at greater risk of future terrorist activities than other domestic targets. Hostile cyber intrusions, including those targeting information systems as well as electronic control systems
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used at the generating plants and for the related distribution systems, could severely disrupt business operations and result in loss of service to customers, as well as create significant expense to repair security breaches or system damage.
Furthermore, certain of our power generation thermal assets are located in active earthquake zones in California and Arizona, and certain of our project companies and suppliers conduct their operations in the same region or in other locations that are susceptible to natural disasters. In addition, California and some of the locations where certain of our suppliers are located, from time to time, have experienced shortages of water, electric power and natural gas. The occurrence of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, drought, flood or localized extended outages of critical utilities or transportation systems, or any critical resource shortages, affecting us or our suppliers, could cause a significant interruption in our business, damage or destroy our facilities or those of our suppliers or the manufacturing equipment or inventory of our suppliers.
Any such terrorist acts, environmental repercussions or disruptions or natural disasters could result in a significant decrease in revenues or significant reconstruction or remediation costs, beyond what could be recovered through insurance policies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Government regulations providing incentives for renewable generation could change at any time and such changes may negatively impact our growth strategy.
Our growth strategy depends in part on government policies that support renewable generation and enhance the economic viability of owning renewable electric generation assets. Renewable generation assets currently benefit from various federal, state and local governmental incentives such as ITCs, cash grants in lieu of ITCs, loan guarantees, RPS programs, modified accelerated cost-recovery system of depreciation and bonus depreciation. For example, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") provides an ITC of 30% of the cost-basis of an eligible resource, including solar energy facilities placed in service prior to the end of 2016, which percentage is currently scheduled to be reduced to 10% for solar energy systems placed in service after December 31, 2016.
Many states have adopted RPS programs mandating that a specified percentage of electricity sales come from eligible sources of renewable energy. However, the regulations that govern the RPS programs, including pricing incentives for renewable energy, or reasonableness guidelines for pricing that increase valuation compared to conventional power (such as a projected value for carbon reduction or consideration of avoided integration costs), may change. If the RPS requirements are reduced or eliminated, it could lead to fewer future power contracts or lead to lower prices for the sale of power in future power contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our future growth prospects. Such material adverse effects may result from decreased revenues, reduced economic returns on certain project company investments, increased financing costs, and/or difficulty obtaining financing. Furthermore, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") included over $80 billion in incentives to encourage investment in the renewable energy sector, such as cash grants in lieu of ITCs, bonus depreciation and expansion of the DOE loan guarantee program. Although the ARRA expanded the DOE loan guarantee program, this program faces challenges and may not continue past the projects already financed. In addition, the cash grant in lieu of ITCs program only applies to facilities that commenced construction prior to December 31, 2011, which commencement date may be determined in accordance with the "5% safe harbor" if more than 5% of the total cost of the eligible property was paid or incurred by December 31, 2011.
If we are unable to utilize various federal, state and local government incentives to acquire additional renewable assets in the future, or the terms of such incentives are revised in a manner that is less favorable to us, we may suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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A significant reduction or elimination of government subsidies under the 1603 Cash Grant Program may have a material adverse effect on our existing operations and may reduce our cash available for distribution.
Certain of our solar facilities, including Avra Valley, Alpine, Borrego, CVSR and portions of the AZ DG Solar Projects, qualify for the ARRA section 1603 Cash Grant Program (the "1603 Cash Grant Program"), which provides a cash payment from the federal government in lieu of ITCs for eligible renewable generation sources for which construction commenced prior to December 31, 2011, which commencement date may be determined in accordance with the 5% safe harbor. We currently anticipate receiving grant proceeds under the 1603 Cash Grant Program after these facilities have reached COD (the "1603 Cash Grant Proceeds"). The amount of the 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds that we will receive will be based on applications that we will file with the U.S. Treasury after the facilities have reached COD. These applications will be reviewed by, and are subject to approval by, the U.S. Treasury. There is no guarantee that our applications will be accepted, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Treasury.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 provided for budget sequestration (a mechanism that, in general, provides for automatic across-the-board spending reductions) in the instance where the U.S. Congress is unable to meet identified deficit target reductions. These reductions were slated to go into effect in January 2013 but the effective date was delayed until March 27, 2013 pursuant to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ("ATRA"). In September 2012, the Office of Management and Budget released an initial report on the sequestration and its expected impacts on hundreds of federal activities. Among the programs listed in the sequestration report were grants awarded by the 1603 Cash Grant Program. In addition, the U.S. Treasury has said that it may reduce the amount of an applicants' cash grant award in cases where project costs exceed certain per watt cost benchmarks or in cases where project costs exceed certain percentage thresholds. The amount of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds that we actually receive may differ materially from the amount expected and/or may be received at a later time frame than expected. On March 1, 2013, the federal sequestration went into effect, and, as a result, 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds for approved applications through September 30, 2013 will be subject to an 8.7% reduction. Based on recent estimates announced by OMB for fiscal year 2014, we estimate 7.3% reduction of available 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds for approved applications after September 30, 2013. For a discussion of the impact of the federal sequestration on our facilities, see "Cash Dividend PolicyAssumptions and ConsiderationsFinancing and Other."
In addition, we have also secured a portion of our financing for Avra Valley and CVSR against expected future 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds at the project-level subsidiary. We will be required to use any 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds actually received for these facilities to repay the associated loans before making any distributions of cash from the applicable project-level subsidiaries to ourselves. If we do not receive the expected 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds for these facilities, the related financing will have to be repaid by other means before distributions from those project-level subsidiaries are available to be part of the quarterly dividend to holders of our Class A common stock. Furthermore, while CVSR received a DOE loan guarantee in 2011 to finance construction costs and provide long-term financing, we may be required to provide additional credit support for CVSR's financing facility in the event such guarantee is revoked or otherwise terminated.
Our forecast of cash available for distribution contained in this prospectus assumes, among other things, that we will receive expected 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds. As a result, our actual performance may not achieve our forecasted performance if we do not receive the expected 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds. Reductions in or eliminations or expirations of, the 1603 Cash Grant Program or the U.S. Treasury's rejection of our application for cash grants may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash and may reduce our cash available for distribution.
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We rely on electric interconnection and transmission facilities that we do not own or control and that are subject to transmission constraints within a number of our regions. If these facilities fail to provide us with adequate transmission capacity, we may be restricted in our ability to deliver electric power to our customers and we may either incur additional costs or forego revenues.
We depend on electric interconnection and transmission facilities owned and operated by others to deliver the wholesale power we will sell from our electric generation assets to our customers. A failure or delay in the operation or development of these interconnection or transmission facilities or a significant increase in the cost of the development of such facilities could result in our losing revenues. Such failures or delays could limit the amount of power our operating facilities deliver or delay the completion of our construction projects. Additionally, such failures, delays or increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If a region's power transmission infrastructure is inadequate, our recovery of wholesale costs and profits may be limited. If restrictive transmission price regulation is imposed, the transmission companies may not have a sufficient incentive to invest in expansion of transmission infrastructure. We cannot also predict whether interconnection and transmission facilities will be expanded in specific markets to accommodate competitive access to those markets. In addition, certain of our operating facilities' generation of electricity may be curtailed without compensation due to transmission limitations or limitations on the electricity grid's ability to accommodate intermittent electricity generating sources, reducing our revenues and impairing our ability to capitalize fully on a particular facility's generating potential. Such curtailments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, economic congestion on transmission networks in certain of the markets in which we operate may occur and we may be deemed responsible for congestion costs. If we were liable for such congestion costs, our financial results could be adversely affected.
Our costs, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely impacted by the disruption of the fuel supplies necessary to generate power at our conventional and thermal power generation facilities.
Delivery of fossil fuels to fuel our conventional and thermal generation facilities is dependent upon the infrastructure (including natural gas pipelines) available to serve each such generation facility as well as upon the continuing financial viability of contractual counterparties. As a result, we are subject to the risks of disruptions or curtailments in the production of power at these generation facilities if a counterparty fails to perform or if there is a disruption in the fuel delivery infrastructure.
Risks Related to Our Relationship with NRG
NRG will be our controlling stockholder and will exercise substantial influence over Yieldco and we are highly dependent on NRG.
NRG will beneficially own all of our outstanding Class B common stock upon completion of this offering. Each share of our outstanding Class B common stock is entitled to one vote per share. As a result of its ownership of our Class B common stock, NRG will possess approximately % (or approximately % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of the combined voting power of our Class A and Class B common stock. NRG has also expressed its intention to maintain a controlling interest in us. As a result of this ownership, NRG will continue to have a substantial influence on our affairs and its voting power will constitute a large percentage of any quorum of our stockholders voting on any matter requiring the approval of our stockholders. Such matters include the election of directors, the adoption of amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and approval of mergers or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company or discouraging others from making tender offers for
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our shares, which could prevent stockholders from receiving a premium for their shares. In addition, NRG will have the right to appoint all of our directors. NRG may cause corporate actions to be taken even if their interests conflict with the interests of our other stockholders (including holders of our Class A common stock). See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsProcedures for Review, Approval and Ratification of Related-Person Transactions."
Furthermore, we will depend on the management and administration services provided by or under the direction of NRG under the Management Services Agreement. NRG personnel and support staff that provide services to us under the Management Services Agreement will not be required to, and we do not expect that they will, have as their primary responsibility the management and administration of Yieldco or to act exclusively for us and the Management Services Agreement will not require any specific individuals to be provided by NRG. Under the Management Services Agreement, NRG will have the discretion to determine which of its employees will perform assignments required to be provided to us under the Management Services Agreement. Any failure to effectively manage our operations or to implement our strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The Management Services Agreement will continue in perpetuity, until terminated in accordance with its terms.
We will also depend upon NRG for the provision of management and administration services at all of our facilities. Any failure by NRG to perform its requirements under these arrangements or the failure by us to identify and contract with replacement service providers, if required, could adversely affect the operation of our facilities and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may not be able to consummate future acquisitions from NRG.
Our ability to grow through acquisitions depends, in part, on NRG's ability to identify and present us with acquisition opportunities. NRG established Yieldco to hold and acquire a diversified suite of power generating assets in the United States. Although NRG has agreed to grant us a right of first offer with respect to certain power generation assets that NRG may elect to sell in the future (as described in "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsRight of First Offer"), NRG will be under no obligation to sell the NRG ROFO Assets or to accept any related offer from us and such right of first offer will be subject to certain exceptions. Furthermore, NRG has no obligation to source acquisition opportunities specifically for us. In addition, NRG has not agreed to commit to us any minimum level of dedicated resources for the pursuit of renewable power-related acquisitions. There are a number of factors which could materially and adversely impact the extent to which suitable acquisition opportunities are made available from NRG, including:
In making these determinations, NRG may be influenced by factors that result in a misalignment or conflict of interest. See "Risks Related to Our BusinessWe may not be able to effectively identify or consummate any future acquisitions on favorable terms, or at all" for a
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description of risks associated with the identifying, evaluating and consummating acquisitions generally, including acquisitions of NRG ROFO Assets.
The departure of some or all of NRG's employees could prevent us from achieving our objectives.
We will depend on the diligence, skill and business contacts of NRG's professionals and the information and opportunities they generate during the normal course of their activities. Furthermore, approximately 24% of NRG's employees at our generation plants (on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the Organizational Structure and entry into the Management Services Agreement as if such transactions occurred on December 31, 2012) were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Our future success will depend on the continued service of these individuals, who are not obligated to remain employed with NRG, or otherwise successfully renegotiate their collective bargaining agreements when such agreements expire or otherwise terminate. NRG has experienced departures of key professionals and personnel in the past and may do so in the future, and we cannot predict the impact that any such departures will have on our ability to achieve our objectives. The departure of a significant number of NRG's professionals or a material portion of the NRG employees who work at any of our facilities for any reason, or the failure to appoint qualified or effective successors in the event of such departures, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our objectives. The Management Services Agreement will not require NRG to maintain the employment of any of its professionals or to cause any particular professional to provide services to us or on our behalf.
Our organizational and ownership structure may create significant conflicts of interest that may be resolved in a manner that is not in the best interests of Yieldco or the best interests of holders of our Class A common stock and that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our organizational and ownership structure involves a number of relationships that may give rise to certain conflicts of interest between Yieldco and holders of our Class A common stock, on the one hand, and NRG, on the other hand. Prior to the completion of this offering, we will enter into a Management Services Agreement with NRG. In accordance with the terms of this agreement, each of our executive officers will be a shared NRG executive and devote his or her time to both our company and NRG as needed to conduct the respective businesses. Although our directors and executive officers owe fiduciary duties to our stockholders, these shared NRG executives will have fiduciary and other duties to NRG, which duties may be inconsistent with the best interests of us and holders of our Class A common stock. In addition, NRG and its representatives, agents and affiliates will have access to our confidential information. Although some of these persons will be subject to confidentiality obligations pursuant to confidentiality agreements or implied duties of confidence, the Management Services Agreement does not contain general confidentiality provisions.
Additionally, all of our executive officers will continue to have economic interests in NRG and, accordingly, the benefit to NRG from a transaction between us and NRG will proportionately inure to their benefit as holders of economic interests in NRG. Following the completion of this offering, NRG will be a related party under the applicable securities laws governing related party transactions and may have interests which differ from our interests or those of holders of our Class A common stock, including with respect to the types of acquisitions made, the timing and amount of dividends by Yieldco, the reinvestment of returns generated by our operations, the use of leverage when making acquisitions and the appointment of outside advisors and service providers. Any material transaction between us and NRG (including the proposed acquisition of any NRG ROFO Asset) will be subject to our related party transaction policy, which will require prior approval of such transaction by our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee (as discussed in "ManagementCommittees of the Board of DirectorsCorporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating
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Committee"). Those of our executive officers who will continue to have economic interests in NRG following the completion of this offering may be conflicted when advising our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee or otherwise participating in the negotiation or approval of such transactions. These executive officers have significant project- and industry-specific expertise that could prove beneficial to our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee's decision-making process and the absence of such strategic guidance could have a material adverse effect on the committee's ability evaluate any such transaction. Furthermore, the creation of our Corporate Governance, Conflicts and Nominating Committee and our related party transaction approval policy may not insulate us from derivative claims related to related party transactions and the conflicts of interest described in this risk factor. Regardless of the merits of such claims, we may be required to expend significant management time and financial resources in the defense thereof. Additionally, to the extent we fail to appropriately deal with any such conflicts, it could negatively impact our reputation and ability to raise additional funds and the willingness of counterparties to do business with us, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may be unable or unwilling to terminate the Management Services Agreement.
The Management Services Agreement will provide that we may terminate the agreement upon 30 days prior written notice to NRG upon the occurrence of any of the following: (i) NRG defaults in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained therein in a manner that results in material harm to us and the default continues unremedied for a period of 30 days after written notice thereof is given to NRG; (ii) NRG engages in any act of fraud, misappropriation of funds or embezzlement that results in material harm to us; (iii) NRG is grossly negligent in the performance of its duties under the agreement and such negligence results in material harm to us; or (iv) upon the happening of certain events relating to the bankruptcy or insolvency of NRG. Furthermore, if we request an amendment to the scope of services provided by NRG under the Management Services Agreement and we are not able to agree with NRG as to a change to the service fee resulting from a change in the scope of services within 180 days of the request, we will be able terminate the agreement upon 30 days prior notice to NRG.
We will not be able to terminate the agreement for any other reason, including if NRG experiences a change of control, and the agreement continues in perpetuity, until terminated in accordance with its terms. If NRG's performance does not meet the expectations of investors, and we are unable to terminate the Management Services Agreement, the market price of our Class A common stock could suffer.
If NRG terminates the Management Services Agreement or defaults in the performance of its obligations under the agreement we may be unable to contract with a substitute service provider on similar terms, or at all.
We will rely on NRG to provide us with management services under the Management Services Agreement and will not have independent executive or senior management personnel. The Management Services Agreement will provide that NRG may terminate the agreement upon 180 days prior written notice of termination to us if we default in the performance or observance of any material term, condition or covenant contained in the agreement in a manner that results in material harm and the default continues unremedied for a period of 30 days after written notice of the breach is given to us. If NRG terminates the Management Services Agreement or defaults in the performance of its obligations under the agreement, we may be unable to contract with a substitute service provider on similar terms or at all, and the costs of substituting service providers may be substantial. In addition, in light of NRG's familiarity with our assets, a substitute service provider may not be able to provide the same level of service due to lack of pre-existing synergies. If we cannot locate a service provider that is
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able to provide us with substantially similar services as NRG does under the Management Services Agreement on similar terms, it would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.
The liability of NRG is limited under our arrangements with it and we have agreed to indemnify NRG against claims that it may face in connection with such arrangements, which may lead it to assume greater risks when making decisions relating to us than it otherwise would if acting solely for its own account.
Under the Management Services Agreement, NRG will not assume any responsibility other than to provide or arrange for the provision of the services described in the Management Services Agreement in good faith. In addition, under the Management Services Agreement, the liability of NRG and its affiliates will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by law to conduct involving bad faith, fraud or willful misconduct or, in the case of a criminal matter, action that was known to have been unlawful, in each case, except for liabilities arising from NRG's gross negligence. In addition, we will agree to indemnify NRG to the fullest extent permitted by law from and against any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs or expenses incurred by an indemnified person or threatened in connection with our operations, investments and activities or in respect of or arising from the Management Services Agreement or the services provided by NRG, except to the extent that the claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs or expenses are determined to have resulted from the conduct in respect of which such persons have liability as described above. These protections may result in NRG tolerating greater risks when making decisions than otherwise would be the case, including when determining whether to use leverage in connection with acquisitions. The indemnification arrangements to which NRG is a party may also give rise to legal claims for indemnification that are adverse to Yieldco and holders of our Class A common stock.
Risks Inherent in an Investment in Us
We may not be able to continue paying comparable or growing cash dividends to our holders of our Class A common stock in the future.
The amount of our cash available for distribution principally depends upon the amount of cash we generate from our operations, which will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on, among other things:
As a result of all these factors, we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient cash generated from operations to pay a specific level of cash dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.
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Furthermore, holders of our Class A common stock should be aware that the amount of cash available for distribution depends primarily on our cash flow, and is not solely a function of profitability, which is affected by non-cash items. We may incur other expenses or liabilities during a period that could significantly reduce or eliminate the cash available for distribution to holders of our Class A common stock during the period. Because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock is limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us, including restrictions under the terms of the agreements governing project-level financing. Our project-level financing agreements generally prohibit distributions from the project entities prior to COD and thereafter prohibit distributions to us unless certain specific conditions are met, including the satisfaction of financial ratios. Our new revolving credit facility may also restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends if an event of default has occurred and is continuing or if the payment of the dividend would result in an event of default.
Yieldco LLC's cash available for distribution will likely fluctuate from quarter to quarter, in some cases significantly, due to seasonality. See "BusinessSeasonality." As result, we may cause Yieldco LLC to reduce the amount of cash it distributes to its members in a particular quarter to establish reserves to fund distributions to its members in future periods for which the cash distributions we would otherwise receive from Yieldco LLC would otherwise be insufficient to fund our quarterly dividend. If we fail to cause Yieldco LLC to establish sufficient reserves, we may not be able to maintain our quarterly dividend with a respect to a quarter adversely affected by seasonality.
Finally, dividends to holders of our Class A common stock will be paid at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may decrease the level of or entirely discontinue payment of dividends. For a description of additional restrictions and factors that may affect our ability to pay cash dividends, please read "Cash Dividend Policy."
The assumptions underlying the forecasts presented elsewhere in this prospectus are inherently uncertain and subject to significant business, economic, financial, regulatory and competitive risks that could cause our actual cash available for distribution to differ materially from our forecasts.
The forecasts presented elsewhere in this prospectus are based on our current portfolio of assets and were prepared using assumptions that our management believes are reasonable. See "Cash Dividend PolicyAssumptions and Considerations." These include assumptions regarding the future operating costs of our facilities, our facilities' future level of power generation, interest rates, administrative expenses, tax treatment of income, future capital expenditure requirements, the completion of El Segundo and CVSR on schedule and on budget and the absence of material adverse changes in economic conditions or government regulations. They also include assumptions based on wind and solar resource studies that take into account meteorological conditions and on the availability of our facilities. The forecasts assume that no unexpected risks materialize during the forecast periods. Any one or more than one of these assumptions may prove to be incorrect, in which case our actual results of operations will be different from, and possibly materially worse than, those contemplated by the forecasts. There can be no assurance that the assumptions underlying the forecasts presented elsewhere in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Actual results for the forecast periods will likely vary from the forecast results and those variations may be material. We make no representation that actual results achieved in the forecast periods will be the same, in whole or in part, as those forecasted herein.
We are a holding company and our only material asset after completion of this offering will be our interest in Yieldco LLC, and we are accordingly dependent upon distributions from NRG Yieldco LLC and its subsidiaries to pay dividends and taxes and other expenses.
Yieldco Inc. is a holding company and has no material assets other than its ownership of membership interests in Yieldco LLC, a holding company that will have no material assets other than
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its interest in Yieldco Operating LLC, whose sole material assets are the ones contributed to it by NRG in the Asset Transfer. Neither Yieldco Inc., nor Yieldco LLC nor Yieldco Operating LLC has any independent means of generating revenue. We intend to cause Yieldco Operating LLC's subsidiaries to make distributions to Yieldco Operating LLC and, in turn, make distributions to Yieldco LLC, and, in turn, to make distributions to Yieldco Inc. in an amount sufficient to cover all applicable taxes payable and dividends, if any, declared by us. To the extent that we need funds for a quarterly cash dividend to holders of our Class A common stock or otherwise, and Yieldco Operating LLC or Yieldco LLC is restricted from making such distributions under applicable law or regulation or is otherwise unable to provide such funds (including as a result of Yieldco Operating LLC's operating subsidiaries being unable to make distributions), it could materially adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition and limit our ability to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.
We have a limited operating history and as a result there is no assurance we can operate on a profitable basis.
We have a limited operating history on which to base an evaluation of our business and prospects. Our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in their early stages of operation. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in addressing the risks we may encounter, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Market interest rates may have an effect on the value of our Class A common stock.
One of the factors that will influence the price of shares of our Class A common stock will be the effective dividend yield of such shares (i.e., the yield as a percentage of the then market price of our shares) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates, which are currently at low levels relative to historical rates, may lead prospective purchasers of shares of our Class A common stock to expect a higher dividend yield and, our inability to increase our dividend as a result of an increase in borrowing costs, insufficient cash available for distribution or otherwise, could result in selling pressure on, and a decrease in the market price of our Class A common stock as investors seek alternative investments with higher yield.
If you purchase shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution.
If you purchase shares of Class A common stock in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in the amount of $ per share, because the initial public offering price of $ is substantially higher than the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our outstanding Class A common stock on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the Organizational Structure. The as adjusted net tangible book value of our Class A common stock is $ per share. For additional information, see "Dilution."
If we are deemed to be an investment company, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete strategic acquisitions or effect combinations.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Investment Company Act"), our business would be subject to applicable restrictions under the Investment Company Act, which could make it impracticable for us to continue our business as contemplated.
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We believe our company is not an investment company under Section 3(b)(1) of the Investment Company Act because we are primarily engaged in a non-investment company business. We intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed an investment company. However, if we were to be deemed an investment company, restrictions imposed by the Investment Company Act, including limitations on our capital structure and our ability to transact with affiliates, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated.
Market volatility may affect the price of our Class A common stock and the value of your investment.
Following the completion of this offering, the market price for our Class A common stock is likely to be volatile, in part because our shares have not been previously traded publicly. We cannot predict the extent to which a trading market will develop or how liquid that market may become. If you purchase shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, you will pay a price that was not established in the public trading markets. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between the underwriters and us. You may not be able to resell your shares above the initial public offering price and may suffer a loss on your investment. In addition, the market price of our Class A common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot predict or control, including general market and economic conditions, disruptions, downgrades, credit events and perceived problems in the credit markets; actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or dividends; changes in our investments or asset composition; write-downs or perceived credit or liquidity issues affecting our assets; market perception of NRG, our business and our assets; our level of indebtedness and/or adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we incur in the future; our ability to raise capital on favorable terms or at all; loss of any major funding source; the termination of the Management Services Agreement or additions or departures of NRG's key personnel; changes in market valuations of similar power generation companies; and speculation in the press or investment community regarding us or NRG.
Securities markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. Any broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common stock.
We are a "controlled company," controlled by NRG, whose interest in our business may be different from ours or yours.
After consummation of this offering, NRG will control approximately % of our combined voting power and be able to elect all of our board of directors. As a result, we will be considered a "controlled company" for the purposes of the NYSE listing requirements. As a "controlled company," we will be permitted to, and we intend to, opt out of the NYSE listing requirements that would otherwise require a majority of the members of our board of directors to be independent and require that we either establish a compensation committee and a nominating and governance committee, each comprised entirely of independent directors, or otherwise ensure that the compensation of our executive officers and nominees for directors are determined or recommended to our board of directors by the independent members of our board of directors. The NYSE listing requirements are intended to ensure that directors who meet the independence standard are free of any conflicting interest that could influence their actions as directors. As further described above in "Risks Related to Our Relationship with NRG," it is possible that the interests of NRG may in some circumstances conflict with our interests and the interests of holders of our Class A common stock.
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Provisions of our charter documents or Delaware law could delay or prevent an acquisition of us, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to holders of our Class A common stock, and could make it more difficult for you to change management.
Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that holders of our Class A common stock may consider favorable, including transactions in which such stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. This is because these provisions may prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to replace or remove members of our management. These provisions include:
Section 203 of the DGCL prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person that together with its affiliates owns or within the last three years has owned 15% of voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. As a result of these provisions in our charter documents following the completion of the Organizational Structure and Delaware law, the price investors may be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock may be limited. See "Description of Capital StockAntitakeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws."
Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, will prohibit any person and any of its associate or affiliate companies in the aggregate, "public utility" (as defined in the FPA) or "holding company" (as defined in the PUHCA) from acquiring an amount of our Class A common stock sufficient to result in a transfer of control without the prior written consent of our board of directors. See "Notice to Investors." While we do not anticipate that this offering will result in a transfer of control over any public utility owned by us, any such change of control, in addition to prior approval from our board of directors, would require prior authorization from FERC. Similar restrictions may apply to certain purchasers of our securities which are "holding companies" under PUHCA regardless of whether our securities are purchased in this offering, subsequent offerings by us or NRG, in open market transactions or otherwise. A purchaser of our securities which is a holding company will need to determine whether a given purchase of our securities may require prior FERC approval.
You may experience dilution of your ownership interest due to the future issuance of additional shares of our Class A common stock.
We are in a capital intensive business, and may not have sufficient funds to finance the growth of our business, future acquisitions or to support our projected capital expenditures. As a result, we may require additional funds from further equity or debt financings, including tax equity financing transactions or sales of preferred shares or convertible debt to complete future acquisitions, expansions and capital expenditures and pay the general and administrative costs of our business. In the future, we may issue our previously authorized and unissued securities, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of purchasers of our Class A common stock offered hereby. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, we will be authorized to issue shares of Class A common stock, shares of Class B common stock and
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shares of preferred stock with preferences and rights as determined by our board of directors. The potential issuance of additional shares of common stock or preferred stock or convertible debt may create downward pressure on the trading price of our Class A common stock. We may also issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our Class A common stock in future public offerings or private placements for capital raising purposes or for other business purposes, potentially at an offering price, conversion price or exercise price that is below the offering price for our Class A common stock in this offering.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our Class A common stock adversely, the stock price and trading volume of our Class A common stock could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our Class A common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of our Class A common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the stock price or trading volume of our Class A common stock to decline.
Future sales of our common stock by NRG may cause the price of our Class A common stock to fall.
The market price of our Class A common stock could decline as a result of sales by NRG of such shares (issuable to NRG upon the exchange of some or all of its Class B Yieldco LLC units) in the market, or the perception that these sales could occur. The market price of our Class A common stock may also decline as a result of NRG disposing or transferring some or all of our outstanding Class B common stock, which disposals or transfers would reduce NRG's ownership interest in, and voting control over, us. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate.
NRG and certain of its affiliates have certain demand and piggyback registration rights with respect to shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon the exchange of Yieldco LLC's Class B units. The presence of additional shares of our Class A common stock trading in the public market, as a result of the exercise of such registration rights may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our securities. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsRegistration Rights Agreement."
We will incur increased costs as a result of being a publicly traded company.
As a public company, we will incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, rules implemented by the SEC and NYSE, have imposed various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.
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We are an "emerging growth company" and may elect to comply with reduced public company reporting requirements, which could make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an "emerging growth company," as defined by the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various public company reporting requirements. These exemptions include, but are not limited to, (i) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements, and (iii) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years after the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, which such fifth anniversary will occur in 2017. However, if certain events occur prior to the end of such five-year period, including if we become a "large accelerated filer," our annual gross revenues exceed $1.0 billion or we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, we would cease to be an emerging growth company prior to the end of such five-year period. We have taken advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and may elect to take advantage of other reduced burdens in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to holders of our Class A common stock may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of any choice we make to reduce disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and the price for our Class A common stock may be more volatile.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.
Risks Related to Taxation
In addition to reading the following risk factors, if you are a non-U.S. investor, please read "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders" for a more complete discussion of the expected material federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of shares of our Class A common stock.
Our future tax liability may be greater than expected if we do not generate NOLs sufficient to offset taxable income.
We expect to generate NOLs and NOL carryforwards that we can utilize to offset future taxable income. Based on our current portfolio of assets, which include renewable assets that benefit from an accelerated tax depreciation schedule, and subject to potential tax audits, which may result in income, sales, use or other tax obligations, we do not expect to pay significant federal income tax for a period of approximately ten years. While we expect these losses will be available to us as a future benefit, in the event that they are not generated as expected, successfully challenged by the IRS (in a tax audit or otherwise) or subject to future limitations as discussed below, our ability to realize these benefits may be limited. A reduction in our expected NOLs, a limitation on our ability to use such losses or future tax audits, may result in a material increase in our estimated future income tax liability and may negatively impact our liquidity and financial condition.
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Our ability to use NOLs to offset future income may be limited.
Our ability to use NOLs generated in the future could be substantially limited if we were to experience an "ownership change" as defined under Section 382 of the Code. In general, an "ownership change" would occur if our "5-percent shareholders," as defined under Section 382 of the Code, collectively increased their ownership in us by more than 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. A corporation that experiences an ownership change will generally be subject to an annual limitation on the use of its pre-ownership change deferred tax assets equal to the equity value of the corporation immediately before the ownership change, multiplied by the long-term tax-exempt rate for the month in which the ownership change occurs. The long-term tax-exempt rate for April 2013 is 2.77%. Future sales of our Class A common stock by NRG, as well as future issuances by us, could contribute to a potential ownership change.
A valuation allowance may be required for our deferred tax assets
Our expected NOLs will be reflected as a deferred tax asset as they are generated until utilized to offset income. Valuation allowances may need to be maintained for deferred tax assets that we estimate are more likely than not to be unrealizable, based on available evidence at the time the estimate is made. Valuation allowances related to deferred tax assets can be affected by changes to tax laws, statutory tax rates and future taxable income levels and based on input from our auditors, tax advisors or regulatory authorities. In the event that we were to determine that we would not be able to realize all or a portion of our net deferred tax assets in the future, we would reduce such amounts through a charge to income tax expense in the period in which that determination was made, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations and our ability to maintain profitability.
Distributions to holders of our Class A common stock may be taxable as dividends.
It is difficult to predict whether we will generate earnings or profits as computed for federal income tax purposes in any given tax year. If we make distributions from current or accumulated earnings and profits as computed for federal income tax purposes, such distributions will generally be taxable to holders of our Class A common stock in the current period as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. Under current law, such dividends would be eligible for the lower tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income of non-corporate taxpayers. While we expect that a portion of our distributions to holders of our Class A common stock may exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits as computed for federal income tax purposes and therefore constitute a non-taxable return of capital distribution to the extent of a stockholder's basis in our Class A common stock, no assurance can be given that this will occur.
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We will receive net proceeds of approximately $ from our sale of shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of $ per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and after deducting estimated expenses and underwriting discounts of approximately $ million. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, we estimate that the net proceeds to us will be approximately $ million.
We intend to use approximately $ million of net proceeds from this offering to purchase newly-issued Yieldco LLC Class A units from Yieldco LLC and approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) of net proceeds from this offering to purchase Yieldco LLC Class A units (which will be reclassified from Yieldco LLC Class B units in connection with such acquisition) from NRG. Accordingly, Yieldco Inc. will not retain any net proceeds from this offering. See "SummaryOrganizational Structure."
Yieldco LLC will use the net proceeds from our purchase of Yieldco LLC Class A units for general corporate purposes, including to fund approximately $ of our required capital contributions to pay for our portion of CVSR's construction costs.
NRG will not receive any net proceeds or other consideration in connection with this offering, other than the net proceeds used by us to purchase Yieldco LLC Class A units from NRG (as described above) and the Yieldco LLC units to be issued to NRG in the Asset Transfer (as described in "Organizational Structure").
A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share would increase (decrease) our net proceeds from this offering by approximately $ million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
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The following table sets forth our predecessor's cash and cash equivalents and consolidated capitalization as of December 31, 2012 on (i) a historical basis and (ii) an as adjusted basis to give effect to the Organizational Structure, this offering and the use of proceeds therefrom as set forth under the heading "Use of Proceeds."
You should read the following table in conjunction with the sections entitled "Use of Proceeds," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our combined financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.
|
December 31, 2012 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(in millions)
|
Actual | As Adjusted |
|||||
Cash and restricted cash: |
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 22 | $ | ||||
Restricted cash |
21 | ||||||
Total cash and restricted cash |
43 | ||||||
Long-term debt: |
|||||||
New revolving credit facility |
$ | | $ | | |||
Affiliated debt |
26 | ||||||
Project-level debt |
741 | ||||||
Total long-term debt |
767 | ||||||
Noncontrolling interest |
| ||||||
Equity |
845 | ||||||
Total equity |
845 | ||||||
Total capitalization |
$ | 1,655 | $ | ||||
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Dilution is the amount by which the offering price paid by the purchasers of our Class A common stock sold in this offering will exceed the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after the offering. Net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock as of a particular date represents the amount of our total tangible assets less our total liabilities divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding as of such date. As of December 31, 2012, after giving effect to the Asset Transfer, our net tangible book value would have been approximately $ billion, or $ per share of Class A common stock, assuming that NRG exchanged all of its Yieldco LLC Class B units for newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. Purchasers of our Class A common stock in this offering will experience substantial and immediate dilution in net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock for financial accounting purposes, as illustrated in the following table.
Assumed initial public offering price per share |
$ | |||
Net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2012 after giving effect to the Asset Transfer |
$ | |||
Decrease in as adjusted net tangible book value per share attributable to purchasers in this offering |
||||
Net tangible book value per share after giving effect to the Asset Transfer, the offering and the use of proceeds therefrom |
||||
Immediate dilution in net tangible book value per share to purchasers in the offering |
||||
Because NRG does not currently own any Class A common stock or other economic interest in us, we have presented dilution in net tangible book value per share of Class A common stock to investors in this offering assuming that NRG exchanged its Yieldco LLC Class B units for newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis in order to more meaningfully present the dilutive impact on the purchasers in this offering.
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock in full, the net tangible book value per share after giving effect to the offering would be $ per share. This represents an increase in net tangible book value of $ per share to our existing stockholder and dilution in net tangible book value of $ per share to purchasers in this offering.
If the initial public offering price were to increase or decrease by $1.00 per share of common stock, then dilution in net tangible book value per share of common stock would equal $ and $ , respectively.
The following table sets forth, as of December 31, 2012, the differences among the number of shares of Class A common stock purchased, the total consideration paid or exchanged and the average price per share paid by NRG and by purchasers of our Class A common stock in this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of $ per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus), that NRG exchanged all of its Yieldco LLC Class B units for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis and no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock.
|
Shares of Class A Common Stock |
Total Consideration | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | ||||||||
NRG and affiliates(1) |
% | $ | % | |||||||||
Purchasers in the offering |
% | $ | % |
57
You should read the following discussion of our cash dividend policy in conjunction with "Assumptions and Considerations" below, which includes the factors and assumptions upon which we base our cash dividend policy. In addition, you should read "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" for information regarding statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and certain risks inherent in our business.
This forecast of future operating results and cash available for distribution in future periods is based on the assumptions described below and other assumptions believed by us to be reasonable as of the date of this prospectus. However, we cannot assure you that any or all of these assumptions will be realized. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions about circumstances and events that have not yet occurred and are subject to all of the uncertainties inherent in making projections. This forecast should not be relied upon as fact or as an accurate representation of future results. Future results will be different from this forecast and the differences may be materially less favorable.
For additional information regarding our historical combined results of operations, you should refer to our audited historical combined financial statements as of December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 included elsewhere in this prospectus.
General
We intend to pay a regular quarterly dividend to holders of our Class A common stock. Our quarterly dividend will initially be set at $ per share of our Class A common stock, or $ per share on an annualized basis, and the amount may be changed in the future without advance notice. We expect to pay a quarterly dividend on or about the 60th day following the expiration of each fiscal quarter to holders of our Class A common stock of record on the last day of such fiscal quarter. With respect to our first dividend payable on , 2013 to holders of record on , 2013, assuming a closing date of , 2013, we intend to pay a pro-rated initial dividend of $ per share.
Rationale for Our Dividend
We have established our initial quarterly dividend level after considering the amount of cash we expect to receive from Yieldco LLC as a result of our membership interest in Yieldco LLC after this offering. In accordance with its operating agreement and our capacity as the sole managing member, we intend to cause Yieldco LLC to make regular quarterly cash distributions to its members in an amount equal to the cash available for distribution generated during a given quarter, which will be calculated net of reserves for the prudent conduct of our business, and to use the amount distributed to us to pay regular quarterly dividends to holders of our Class A common stock.
Our cash dividend policy reflects a basic judgment that holders of our Class A common stock will be better served by distributing all of the cash distributions we receive from Yieldco LLC each quarter in the form of a quarterly dividend rather than retaining it. In addition, by providing for the provision of reserves each quarter in calculating cash available for distribution and thereby enabling Yieldco LLC to retain a portion of its cash generated from operations, we believe we will also provide better value to holders of our Class A common stock by maintaining the operating capacity of our assets and, in turn, dividend paying capacity.
Yieldco LLC's cash available for distribution is likely to fluctuate from quarter to quarter, in some cases significantly, as a result of the seasonality of our assets, maintenance and outage schedules among other factors. Accordingly, during quarters in which it generates cash available for distribution in excess of the amount necessary to distribute to us to pay our stated quarterly dividend, we may cause it to reserve a portion of the excess to fund its cash distribution in future quarters. In quarters in
58
which we do not generate sufficient cash available for distribution to fund our stated quarterly cash dividend, if our board of directors so determines, we may use sources of cash not included in our calculation of cash available for distribution, such as net cash provided by financing activities, receipts from 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds, network upgrade reimbursements, all or any portion of the cash on hand or, if applicable, borrowings under our new revolving credit facility, to pay dividends to holders of our Class A common stock. Although these other sources of cash may be substantial and available to fund a dividend payment in a particular period, we exclude these items from our calculation of cash available for distribution because we consider them non-recurring or otherwise not representative of the operating cash flows we typically expect to generate.
Estimate of Future Cash Available for Distribution
We primarily considered forecasted cash available for distribution in assessing the amount of cash that we expect our assets will be able to generate for the purposes of our initial dividend. Accordingly, we believe that an understanding of cash available for distribution is useful to investors in evaluating our ability to pay dividends pursuant to our stated cash dividend policy. In general, we expect that "cash available for distribution" each quarter will equal Adjusted EBITDA generated during the period plus cash distributions received from unconsolidated affiliates, less:
Limitations on Cash Dividends and Our Ability to Change Our Cash Dividend Policy
There is no guarantee that we will pay quarterly cash dividends to holders of our Class A common stock. We do not have a legal obligation to pay our initial quarterly dividend or any other dividend. Our cash dividend policy may be changed at any time and is subject to certain restrictions and uncertainties, including the following:
59
common stock, and the establishment of or increase in those reserves could result in a reduction in cash dividends from levels we currently anticipate pursuant to our stated cash dividend policy. These reserves may account for the fact that our project-level cash flows may vary from year to year based on, among other things, changes in prices under offtake agreements, fuel supply and transportation agreements and other project contracts, changes in regulated transmission rates, compliance with the terms of non-recourse project-level financing including debt repayment schedules, the transition to market or recontracted pricing following the expiration of offtake agreements, working capital requirements and the operating performance of the assets. Furthermore, our board of directors may increase, or cause Yieldco LLC to increase reserves to account for the seasonality that has historically existed in our assets cash flows and the variances in the pattern and frequency of distributions to us from our assets during the year.
Our Ability to Grow our Business and Dividend
We intend to grow our business primarily through the acquisition of contracted power assets, which, we believe, will facilitate the growth of our cash available for distribution and enable us to increase our dividend per share over time. However, the determination of the amount of cash dividends to be paid to holders of our Class A common stock will be made by our board of directors and will depend upon our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, long-term prospects and any other matters that our board of directors deem relevant.
We expect that we will rely primarily upon external financing sources, including commercial bank borrowings and issuances of debt and equity securities, to fund any future growth capital expenditures. To the extent we are unable to finance growth externally; our cash dividend policy could
60
significantly impair our ability to grow because we do not currently intend to reserve a substantial amount of cash generated from operations to fund growth opportunities. If external financing is not available to us on acceptable terms, our board of directors may decide to finance acquisitions with cash from operations, which would reduce or even eliminate the amount of cash available for distribution for the payment of our stated quarterly dividend. To the extent we issue additional shares of capital stock to fund growth capital expenditures, the payment of dividends on those additional shares may increase the risk that we will be unable to maintain or increase our per share dividend level. There are no limitations in our bylaws, and we do not expect that there will be any limitations under our new revolving credit facility, on our ability to issue additional shares of capital stock, including preferred stock that would have priority over our Class A common stock with respect to the payment of dividends. Additionally, the incurrence of additional commercial bank borrowings or other debt to finance our growth would result in increased interest expense, which in turn may impact the cash available for distribution that we have to distribute to holders of our Class A common stock.
Unaudited Cash Available for Distribution for the Years Ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012
If we had completed the transactions contemplated in this prospectus on January 1, 2011, our unaudited cash available for distribution for the year ended December 31, 2011 would have been approximately $13 million, of which $ million would have been distributed to Yieldco Inc. If we had completed the transactions contemplated in this prospectus on January 1, 2012, our unaudited cash available for distribution for fiscal year 2012 would have been approximately $25 million, of which $ million would have been distributed to Yieldco Inc. In addition, our cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities was approximately $3 million and $27 million for the years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012, respectively. While our financial results reflect debt borrowed and capital contributed to fund growth capital expenditures and equity investments in our unconsolidated affiliates, we exclude these items from our calculation of cash available for distribution because we consider them non-recurring or otherwise not representative of the cash flows we typically expect to generate. These amounts would have been insufficient to pay the full quarterly cash dividend on all of our Class A common stock to be outstanding immediately after consummation of this offering based on our initial quarterly dividend of $ per share of our Class A common stock per quarter (or $ per share on an annualized basis).
Our calculation of unaudited cash available for distribution does not include incremental external general and administrative expenses that we expect to incur as a result of being a publicly traded company, including costs associated with SEC reporting requirements, independent auditor fees, investor relations activities, stock exchange listing, registrar and transfer agent fees, incremental director and officer liability insurance and director compensation. We estimate that these incremental external general and administrative expenses initially will be approximately $3 million per year. Such expenses are not reflected in our unaudited combined financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Our unaudited combined financial statements, from which our unaudited cash available for distribution was derived, do not purport to present our results of operations had the transactions contemplated in this prospectus actually been completed as of the dates indicated. Furthermore, cash available for distribution is a cash accounting concept, while our predecessor's historical financial statements were prepared on an accrual basis. We derived the amounts of unaudited cash available for distribution stated above in the manner shown in the table below. As a result, the amount of unaudited cash available should only be viewed as a general indicator of the amount of cash available for distribution that we might have generated had we been formed and completed the transactions contemplated in this prospectus in earlier periods.
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The footnote to the table below provides additional information about the adjustments and should be read along with the table.
|
Fiscal Year Ended | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(in millions)
|
December 31, 2011 |
December 31, 2012 |
|||||
Operating Revenues: |
|||||||
Total operating Revenues |
$ | 164 | $ | 175 | |||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
|||||||
Cost of operations |
104 | 108 | |||||
Depreciation and amortization |
22 | 25 | |||||
General and administration |
12 | 13 | |||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
138 | 146 | |||||
Operating Income |
26 | 29 | |||||
Other income/(expense) |
|||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
13 | 19 | |||||
Other income |
2 | 2 | |||||
Interest expense |
(19 | ) | (28 | ) | |||
Total other expense |
(4 | ) | (7 | ) | |||
Income before income taxes |
22 |
22 |
|||||
Income tax expense |
8 | 9 | |||||
Net Income |
14 | 13 | |||||
Less: |
|||||||
Interest income |
(2 | ) | (2 | ) | |||
Add: |
|||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
22 | 25 | |||||
Interest expense |
19 | 28 | |||||
Income tax expense |
8 | 9 | |||||
Contract amortization |
1 | 1 | |||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(13 |
) |
(19 |
) |
|||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
29 | 42 | |||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates |
16 | 23 | |||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
78 | 97 | |||||
Add: |
|||||||
Cash distribution from unconsolidated affiliates |
8 | 21 | |||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
(29 | ) | (42 | ) | |||
Less: |
|||||||
Cash interest paid |
(17 | ) | (17 | ) | |||
Income tax paid |
| | |||||
Maintenance capital expenditures |
(7 | ) | (9 | ) | |||
Principal amortization of indebtedness |
(20 | ) | (25 | ) | |||
Estimated cash available for distribution |
13 | 25 | |||||
Less: |
|||||||
Growth capital expenditures |
(358 | ) | (549 | ) | |||
Equity investment in unconsolidated affiliates |
(148 | ) | (27 | ) | |||
Add: |
|||||||
Capital contributed to fund growth capital expenditures |
299 | 283 | |||||
Net debt borrowed to fund growth capital expenditures and equity investments in unconsolidated affiliates(1) |
197 | 295 | |||||
Estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities |
$ | 3 | $ | 27 | |||
Less estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities to non-controlling interest |
|||||||
Estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities to Yieldco Inc. |
$ | $ | |||||
Initial annual dividend per share (based on initial quarterly dividend rate of $ per share of our Class A common stock) |
|||||||
Aggregate annual dividends to holders of our Class A common stock |
|||||||
Excess (shortfall) of cash available for distribution over aggregated annualized quarterly distributions, calculated at the initial quarterly distribution of $ per unit |
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The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA by our wholly-owned conventional, renewable and thermal assets and our assets that we account for using the equity method for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 (in millions):
|
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2011 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conventional | Renewable | Thermal | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 11 | $ | 4 | $ | 9 | $ | (10 | ) | $ | 14 | |||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
(1 | ) | (1 | ) | | | (2 | ) | ||||||||
Add: |
||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
| 8 | 14 | | 22 | |||||||||||
Interest expense |
1 | 9 | 9 | | 19 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | | 8 | 8 | |||||||||||
Contract amortization |
| | 1 | | 1 | |||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(12 | ) | (1 | ) | | | (13 | ) | ||||||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
25 | 4 | | | 29 | |||||||||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates |
13 | 3 | | | 16 | |||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 24 | $ | 23 | $ | 33 | $ | (2 | ) | $ | 78 | |||||
|
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2012 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conventional | Renewable | Thermal | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 14 | $ | (2 | ) | $ | 13 | $ | (12 | ) | $ | 13 | ||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
(1 | ) | (1 | ) | | | (2 | ) | ||||||||
Add: |
||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
| 10 | 15 | | 25 | |||||||||||
Interest expense |
| 20 | 8 | | 28 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | | 9 | 9 | |||||||||||
Contract amortization |
| | 1 | | 1 | |||||||||||
Equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(15 | ) | (4 | ) | | | (19 | ) | ||||||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
30 | 12 | | | 42 | |||||||||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA to unconsolidated affiliates |
15 | 8 | | | 23 | |||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 28 | $ | 35 | $ | 37 | $ | (3 | ) | $ | 97 | |||||
Estimated Cash Available for Distribution for the Twelve Months Ending June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015
We forecast that our cash available for distribution during the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015 will be approximately $84 million and $105 million, respectively, of which we forecast $ million and $ million, respectively, will be distributed to Yieldco Inc. This amount would be sufficient to pay our initial quarterly dividend of $ per share on all outstanding shares of our Class A common stock immediately after consummation of this offering for each quarter in the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and the twelve months ending June 30, 2015.
63
We are providing this forecast to supplement our predecessor's combined historical financial statements in support of our belief that we will have sufficient cash available for distribution to pay a regular quarterly dividend on all of our outstanding Class A common stock immediately after consummation of this offering for each quarter in fiscal year 2013, at our initial quarterly dividend of $ per share (or $ per share on an annualized basis). Please read "Significant Forecast Assumptions" for further information as to the assumptions we have made for the forecast. Please read "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsSignificant Accounting Policies and Estimates" for information regarding the accounting policies we have followed for the forecast.
Our forecast is a forward-looking statement and reflects our judgment as of the date of this prospectus of the conditions we expect to exist and the course of action we expect to take during the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and the twelve months ending June 30, 2015. It should be read together with the historical combined financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." We believe that we have a reasonable basis for these assumptions and that our actual results of operations will approximate those reflected in our forecast, but we can give no assurance that our forecasted results will be achieved. The assumptions and estimates underlying the forecast, as described below under "Assumptions and Considerations," are inherently uncertain and, although we consider them reasonable as of the date of this prospectus, they are subject to a wide variety of significant business, economic, and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forecasted results, including, among others, the risks and uncertainties described in "Risk Factors." Any of the risks discussed in this prospectus, to the extent they occur, could cause actual results of operations to vary significantly from those that would enable us to generate sufficient cash available for distribution to pay the aggregate annualized regular quarterly dividend on all outstanding shares of our Class A common stock for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015, calculated at the initial quarterly dividend rate of $ per share per quarter (or $ per share on an annualized basis). Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the forecast will be indicative of our future performance or that actual results will not differ materially from those presented in the forecast. If our forecasted results are not achieved, we may not be able to pay a regular quarterly dividend to holders of our Class A common stock at our initial quarterly dividend level or at all. Inclusion of the forecast in this prospectus should not be regarded as a representation by us, the underwriters or any other person that the results contained in the forecast will be achieved.
The accompanying forecast was not prepared with a view toward complying with the guidelines established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants with respect to prospective financial information. Neither our independent auditors, nor any other independent accountants, have compiled, examined or performed any procedures with respect to our forecast, nor have they expressed any opinion or any other form of assurance on our forecast or its achievability, and our independent auditors assume no responsibility for, and disclaim any association with, our forecast.
We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates that we may make to the forecast or the assumptions used to prepare the forecast to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus. In light of this, the statement that we believe that we will have sufficient cash available for distribution to allow us to pay the full regular quarterly dividend on all of our Class A common stock outstanding immediately after the consummation of this offering for each quarter in the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015 (based on our initial quarterly dividend rate of $ per share per quarter (or $ per share on an annualized basis)) should not be regarded as a representation by us, the underwriters or any other person that we will pay such dividends. Therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information.
64
NRG Yieldco, Inc.
Estimated Cash Available for Distribution
|
Twelve Months Ended | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(in millions)
|
June 30, 2014 |
June 30, 2015 |
|||||
Operating Revenues |
|||||||
Total operating Revenues |
$ | 357 | $ | 376 | |||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
|||||||
Cost of operations |
141 | 152 | |||||
Depreciation and amortization |
84 | 84 | |||||
General and administration |
13 | 14 | |||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
238 | 250 | |||||
Operating income |
119 | 126 | |||||
Other income/(expense) |
|||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
28 | 22 | |||||
Other income/(expense) |
2 | 2 | |||||
Interest expense |
(58 | ) | (60 | ) | |||
Total other income/(expense) |
(28 | ) | (36 | ) | |||
Income before income taxes |
91 |
90 |
|||||
Income tax expense |
37 | 36 | |||||
Net Income |
54 | 54 | |||||
Less: |
|||||||
Interest income |
(1 | ) | (1 | ) | |||
Add: |
|||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
84 | 84 | |||||
Interest expense |
58 | 60 | |||||
Income tax expense |
37 | 36 | |||||
Contract amortization |
1 | 1 | |||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(28 |
) |
(22 |
) |
|||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
70 | 74 | |||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA in unconsolidated affiliates |
42 | 52 | |||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
275 | 286 | |||||
Add: |
|||||||
Cash distribution from unconsolidated affiliates |
22 | 47 | |||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
(70 | ) | (74 | ) | |||
Less: |
|||||||
Cash interest paid |
(55 | ) | (60 | ) | |||
Income tax paid |
| | |||||
Maintenance capital expenditures |
(11 | ) | (15 | ) | |||
Change in other assets |
(29 | ) | (13 | ) | |||
Principal amortization of indebtedness |
(48 | ) | (66 | ) | |||
Estimated cash available for distribution |
84 | 105 | |||||
Less: |
|||||||
Growth capital expenditures/acquisitions |
(49 | ) | | ||||
Equity investment in unconsolidated affiliates |
(16 | ) | | ||||
Add: |
|||||||
Capital contributed to fund growth capital expenditures |
9 | | |||||
Net Debt borrowed to fund growth capital expenditures and equity investments in unconsolidated affiliates |
56 | | |||||
Estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities |
$ | 84 | $ | 105 | |||
Less estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities to non-controlling interest |
|||||||
Estimated cash available for distribution after investing and funding activities to Yieldco Inc. |
$ | $ | |||||
Initial annual dividend per share (based on initial quarterly dividend rate of $ per share of our Class A common stock) |
|||||||
Aggregate annual dividends to holders of our Class A common stock |
|||||||
Excess (shortfall) of cash available for distribution over aggregated annualized quarterly distributions, calculated at the initial quarterly distribution of $ per unit |
65
The following table provides a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA by our wholly-owned conventional, renewable and thermal assets and our assets that we account for using the equity method for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and 2015 (in millions):
|
Twelve Months Ending June 30, 2014 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conventional | Renewable | Thermal | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 50 | $ | 25 | $ | 23 | $ | (44 | ) | $ | 54 | |||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
| (1 | ) | | | (1 | ) | |||||||||
Add: |
||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
37 | 32 | 15 | | 84 | |||||||||||
Interest expense |
23 | 27 | 8 | | 58 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | | 37 | 37 | |||||||||||
Contract amortization |
| | 1 | | 1 | |||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(15 | ) | (13 | ) | | | (28 | ) | ||||||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
30 | 40 | | | 70 | |||||||||||
Adjustments to reflect Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA to unconsolidated affiliates |
15 | 27 | | | 4 | |||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 125 | $ | 110 | $ | 47 | $ | (7 | ) | $ | 275 | |||||
|
Twelve Months Ending June 30, 2015 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Conventional | Renewable | Thermal | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 52 | $ | 20 | $ | 25 | $ | (43 | ) | $ | 54 | |||||
Less: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
| (1 | ) | | | (1 | ) | |||||||||
Add: |
||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
37 | 32 | 15 | | 84 | |||||||||||
Interest expense |
27 | 26 | 7 | | 60 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | | 36 | 36 | |||||||||||
Contract amortization |
| | 1 | | 1 | |||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
(14 | ) | (8 | ) | | | (22 | ) | ||||||||
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates |
29 | 45 | | | 74 | |||||||||||
Adjustments to reflects Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA to unconsolidated affiliates |
15 | 37 | | | 52 | |||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 131 | $ | 114 | $ | 48 | $ | (7 | ) | $ | 286 | |||||
Assumptions and Considerations
Set forth below are the material assumptions that we have made to demonstrate our ability to generate our estimated Adjusted EBITDA and estimated cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015. The forecast has been prepared by and is the responsibility of our management. Our forecast reflects our judgment of the conditions we expect to exist and the course of action we expect to take during the forecast period. While the assumptions disclosed in this prospectus are not all inclusive, such assumptions are those that we believe are material to our forecasted results of operations. We believe we have a reasonable basis for these assumptions. We believe that our historical results of operations will approximate those reflected in our forecast. However, we can give no assurance that our forecasted results will be achieved. There will
66
likely be differences between our forecasted and our historical results, and those differences may be material. If our forecast is not achieved, we may not be able to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock at the initial quarterly dividend level or at all.
The following table presents the forecasted Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015 (in millions):
|
Twelve Months Ending | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
June 30, 2014 | June 30, 2015 | |||||||||||
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
Estimated Cash Available for Distribution |
Adjusted EBITDA |
Estimated Cash Available for Distribution |
|||||||||
Conventional |
$ | 125 | $ | 42 | $ | 131 | $ | 45 | |||||
Renewables |
110 | 25 | 114 | 50 | |||||||||
Thermal |
47 | 24 | 48 | 17 | |||||||||
Corporate |
(7 | ) | (7 | ) | (7 | ) | (7 | ) | |||||
Total |
$ | 275 | $ | 84 | $ | 286 | $ | 105 | |||||
General Considerations
67
68
Total Operating Revenue
We estimate that we will generate total operating revenue of $357 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $376 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $175 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. This increase in our forecasted period from the historical period is primarily attributed to El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley and Borrego achieving COD, which in the aggregate we estimate will generate approximately 1,915,000 MWhs for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 compared to approximately 571,000 MWhs for the year ended December 31, 2012 and accounting for a full twelve months of operations of the Princeton Energy Center. The increase in the forecast period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 over the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 is primarily attributed to accounting for a full twelve months of operations of El Segundo, which we estimate will generate approximately 1,732,000 MWhs.
Cost of Operations
We estimate that we will incur a cost of operations expense of $141 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $152 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $108 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. This increase in our forecasted periods from the historical period is primarily attributed to El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley, Borrego and PFMG DG Solar Projects achieving commercial operations and accounting for a full twelve months of operations of the Princeton Energy Center. The increase in the forecast period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 over the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 is primarily attributed to accounting for a full twelve months of operations of El Segundo.
Depreciation and Amortization
We estimate that we will incur depreciation and amortization expense of $84 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $84 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 compared to $25 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. This increase in our forecasted periods from the historical period is primarily attributed to El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley, Borrego and PFMG DG Solar Projects achieving commercial operations and accounting for a full twelve months of operations of the Princeton Energy Center. Forecasted depreciation and amortization expense reflects management's estimates, which are based on consistent average depreciable asset lives and depreciation methodologies under U.S. GAAP. We have assumed that the average depreciable asset lives are 40 years for buildings and 22 years for equipment.
General and Administration ("G&A")
We estimate that we will incur G&A expenses of $13 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $14 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $13 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. G&A expenses include certain shared services and administrative expenses attributed to such assets for their operations, our management services payment to NRG under the Management Services Agreement and specifically for the forecasts, together with the aforementioned expenses, certain costs associated with being a public company.
Equity in Earnings of Unconsolidated Affiliates
We estimate that we will generate total equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates of $28 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $22 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $19 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in our forecasted period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014, compared to the year ended December 31, 2012, is primarily attributed to (i) accounting for a full twelve months of operations of three phases of CVSR and (ii) the final phase achieving COD in October 2013 and operating for the
69
last five months during the forecasted period. Until the COD of the final phase, we assume that we capitalize CVSR's growth capital expenditures including interest expenses associated with the project-level financing. The decrease in our forecasted period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, as compared to the forecasted period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014, is primarily attributable to accounting for a full twelve months of depreciation and amortization expense and interest expense during the forecasted period for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, which more than offsets the higher revenues during the same forecasted period accounting for a full twelve months of operations of all four phases of CVSR.
Pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from Unconsolidated Affiliates
Yieldco's pro-rata share of Adjusted EBITDA represents the combined amount of adjusted EBITDA generated by each of our unconsolidated affiliates during a period multiplied by our then applicable membership interest in each such unconsolidated affiliate. We estimate that we will generate total pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates of approximately $70 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $74 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $42 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in our pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from our unconsolidated affiliates for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 over the year ended December 31, 2012 is primarily attributable to the phases of CVSR achieving COD, while the increase in our forecasted periods for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 over the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 is attributed to accounting for a full twelve months of operations of all four phases of CVSR.
Capital Expenditures
We estimate that we will have maintenance capital expenditures of $11 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $15 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. This increase is primarily attributed to the operations of our Phoenix and Princeton Energy Centers. In addition, we forecast approximately $3 million per year in maintenance capital expenditures for our conventional assets and less than $1 million in maintenance capital expenditures for our renewable generation assets, as our renewable generation assets are subject to fixed price O&M and project-level management administration agreements with annual escalators, such costs are included in our cost of operations. See "Business-Our Operations" and "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions-Project-Level Management and Administration Agreements." Maintenance capital expenditures are cash expenditures for the addition or improvement to, or the replacement of, our capital assets made to maintain our long-term operating income or operating capacity. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures are expenditures for the repair, refurbishment and replacement of steam boilers and boiler tube leaks.
We estimate growth capital expenditures of $49 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and zero for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $549 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The decrease is primarily attributed to completion of the construction of El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley, Borrego, Dover, PFMG DG Solar Projects and the Princeton Energy Center. For the twelve months ending June 30, 2014, our growth capital expenditures include $40 million for the construction of El Segundo, and $9 million for the expansion of the Phoenix Energy Center.
Change in Other Assets
We estimate that change in other assets will be $29 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $13 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015. For the year ended December 31, 2012, El Segundo was still under construction and as a result there was no change in other assets. The increase from the historical period is attributed to El Segundo achieving COD. The
70
tolling agreement is classified as an operating lease with El Segundo, as lessor, and accordingly, revenues under such agreement are recognized on a straight-line basis over its 10-year term. The contractual payments received by El Segundo under such agreement vary from a straight-line basis over the term, escalating each year of the term and differing each month based on a pre-determined schedule reflecting expected higher demand for capacity in summer months. Any difference between revenues and contractual payments are recorded on El Segundo's balance sheet.
Cash Distribution from Unconsolidated Affiliates
We estimate that we will generate cash distribution from unconsolidated affiliates of $22 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $47 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $21 million in cash distributions for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in our cash distribution from unconsolidated affiliates for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015 is attributable to CVSR achieving COD on all four phases.
Financing and Other
We estimate that interest expense will be $58 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $60 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $28 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase is primarily attributed to additional indebtedness borrowed to fund the construction of El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley and Borrego as well as increases in letters of credit posted upon COD of these facilities. Forecasted interest expense is based on the following assumptions:
We estimate that principal amortization of indebtedness will be $48 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2014 and $66 million for the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, compared to $25 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase is primarily attributed to additional amortization following COD for our El Segundo, Alpine, Avra Valley and Borrego assets, offset in part by a reduction in amortization of $19 million related to a repayment of a cash grant bridge loan with respect to Roadrunner in the first quarter of 2012 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2012.
Following the COD of Avra Valley, Alpine, Borrego and each phase of CVSR, NRG has applied or will apply on our behalf to the U.S. Treasury for 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds within 60 days thereafter, as applicable. We expect to receive our portion of the 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds for each application within 60 to 90 days of filing subject to exceptions.
Avra Valley. On February 13, 2013, NRG applied for approximately $27 million of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds on behalf of Avra Valley. In connection with the construction financing for Avra Valley, there was a $8 million cash grant bridge loan available. As of December 31, 2012 and March 31, 2013, approximately $1 million and $4 million, respectively, were outstanding thereon.
As a result of the federal government's sequestration which went into effect March 1, 2013, an allowance of approximately $3 million was recorded in March 2013, reflecting our expectation that the amount of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds likely to be received by Avra Valley would be reduced by 8.7% of the application amount. Assuming receipt of the anticipated 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds, we estimate that approximately $4 million will be used to pay off Avra Valley's cash grant bridge loan and that the remaining approximately $20 million will be retained by the project.
71
Alpine. On March 25, 2013, NRG applied for approximately $72 million of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds on behalf of Alpine. In connection with the construction financing for Alpine, in March 2013, $62 million of the cash grant bridge loan was drawn on.
As a result of the federal government's sequestration which went into effect March 1, 2013, a $6 million allowance was recorded in March 2013, reflecting our expectation that the amount of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds likely to be received would be reduced by 8.7% of the application amount. Assuming receipt of the anticipated 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds, we estimate that approximately $62 million will be used to pay off Alpine's cash grant bridge loan and that the remaining approximately $4 million will be retained by the project.
Borrego. During the second quarter of 2013, NRG expects to apply for approximately $36 million of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds on behalf of Borrego, which does not have a cash grant bridge loan available. As a result of the federal government's sequestration that went into effect March 1, 2013, a $3 million allowance is expected to be recorded shortly after the application is filed, reflecting our expectation that the amount of 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds likely to be received would be reduced by 8.7% of the application amount. Assuming receipt of the anticipated 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds, we expect that the estimated proceeds will be retained by the project.
CVSR. NRG (i) filed an application (before September 30, 2013) to receive 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds totalling approximately $206 million by the end of second quarter of 2013 and (ii) will file an application to receive additionally approximately $215 million within 60 to 90 days of achieving COD on the final phase of CVSR (which application we expect to file after September 30, 2013). In connection with the construction financing for CVSR, there is a $380 million cash grant bridge loan available. As of December 31, 2012, $373 million was outstanding thereon. As a result of the federal government's sequestration that went into effect March 1, 2013, CVSR's 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds will be reduced by 8.7% for approved applications before September 30, 2013. Based on recent estimates announced by OMB for fiscal year 2014, we estimate a 7.3% reduction for awards made after September 30, 2013. Assuming receipt of the anticipated 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds specified in (i) above, we estimate that all such proceeds will be used to pay down the amount outstanding under the cash grant bridge loan. Assuming receipt of the anticipated 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds specified in (ii) above, we estimate that a portion of such proceeds will be used to pay off the remaining amount outstanding under the cash grant bridge loan. The remaining amount of the 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds, after giving effect to the sequestration, will be shared between NRG and us, based on our then respective ownership interests in CVSR. We estimate that Yieldco Inc. will receive $9 million of such remaining proceeds.
As we attribute 1603 Cash Grant Proceeds as one-time items, we have excluded the excess proceeds distributable to us from our forecasted cash available for distribution. We intend to retain such excess proceeds for general corporate purposes and to potentially fund future acquisitions of assets (whether NRG ROFO Assets or otherwise).
Certain of our assets have incurred costs to upgrade related interconnection facilities in connection with the construction of such assets. Under the agreements with the transmission operators, these project-level entities agreed to advance such upgrade costs and upon the applicable project's COD, certain eligible costs would be refunded by the transmission operators over a five-year period. Such refunds are applicable for El Segundo, Alpine, Borrego and CVSR. As we attribute these upgrade refunds as non-recurring business related income, such refund amounts are excluded from our forecasted cash available for distribution. We intend to retain such excess proceeds for general corporate purposes and to potentially fund future acquisitions.
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Regulatory, Industry and Economic Factors
Our estimated results of operations for the forecasted period are based on the following assumptions related to regulatory, industry and economic factors:
73
UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The unaudited pro forma consolidated financial statements are presented to show how we might have looked if the Organizational Structure described under "SummaryOrganizational Structure," and the use of the estimated net proceeds from this offering as described under "Use of Proceeds" had occurred on the dates and for the periods indicated below. We derived the following unaudited pro forma consolidated financial statements by applying pro forma adjustments to the historical combined financial statements of our accounting predecessor included elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 appearing elsewhere in this prospectus are intended to represent the financial results of NRG's contracted renewable energy, natural gas and dual-fired electric generation assets and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States that will be contributed to Yieldco LLC as part of the Asset Transfer for those periods.
The unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2012 have been derived from our accounting predecessor's financial data (as derived from the combined financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus) and giving pro forma effect to the Organizational Structure and the use of the estimated net proceeds from this offering as if they had occurred on January 1, 2012. The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2012 gives effective to the Organizational Structure and the use of the estimated proceeds from this offering as if they had occurred on such date.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial information and supplemental unaudited pro forma consolidated financial information is presented for informational purposes only. The unaudited pro forma consolidated financial information and supplemental unaudited pro forma consolidated financial information does not purport to represent what our results of operations or financial condition would have been had the transactions to which the pro forma adjustments relate actually occurred on the dates indicated, and they do not purport to project our results of operations or financial condition for any future period or as of any future date.
The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet and statements of operations and unaudited consolidated balance sheet and statements of operations should be read in conjunction with the sections entitled "SummaryOrganizational Structure," "Use of Proceeds," "Capitalization," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our historical consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.
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Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Statement of Operations
For the Year Ended December 31, 2012
|
Actual | Pro Forma Adjustments |
NRG Yieldco, Inc. Pro Forma |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(in millions) |
|||||||||
Statement of Income Data: |
||||||||||
Operating Revenues: |
||||||||||
Total operating revenues |
$ | 175 | $ | $ | ||||||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
||||||||||
Cost of operations |
108 | |||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
25 | |||||||||
General and administrative(1) |
13 | |||||||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
146 | |||||||||
Operating Income |
29 | |||||||||
Other Income/Expense |
||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
19 | |||||||||
Other income/(expense), net |
2 | |||||||||
Interest expense |
(28 | ) | ||||||||
Total other expense |
(7 | ) | ||||||||
Income Before Income Taxes |
22 | |||||||||
Income tax expense |
9 | |||||||||
Net income |
$ | 13 | $ | $ | ||||||
Less net income attributable to non-controlling interest(2) |
||||||||||
Net income Attributable to Yieldco, Inc. |
$ | $ | $ |
Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Statements of Operations
75
Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Balance Sheet
As of December 31, 2012
|
Actual | Pro Forma Adjustments |
NRG Yieldco, Inc. Pro Forma |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(in millions) |
|||||||||
Current Assets: |
||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents(3) |
$ | 22 | $ | $ | ||||||
Restricted cash |
21 | |||||||||
Accounts receivabletrade |
22 | |||||||||
Inventory |
5 | |||||||||
Deferred tax assetscurrent(4) |
1 | |||||||||
Prepayments and other current assets |
11 | |||||||||
Total current assets |
82 | |||||||||
Property, Plant and Equipment |
||||||||||
In service |
708 | |||||||||
Under construction |
918 | |||||||||
Total property, plant & equipment |
1,626 | |||||||||
Less accumulated depreciation |
(115 | ) | ||||||||
Net property, plant and equipment |
1,511 | |||||||||
Other Assets |
||||||||||
Equity investments in affiliates |
220 | |||||||||
Notes receivable |
29 | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $3 |
37 | |||||||||
Other non-current assets |
42 | |||||||||
Total other assets |
328 | |||||||||
Total Assets |
1,921 | |||||||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY |
||||||||||
Current Liabilities |
||||||||||
Current portion of long-term debtexternal |
31 | |||||||||
Accounts payable |
163 | |||||||||
Due to NRG and subsidiaries |
23 | |||||||||
Derivative instruments |
16 | |||||||||
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities |
20 | |||||||||
Total current liabilities |
253 | |||||||||
Other Liabilities |
||||||||||
Long-term debtexternal |
710 | |||||||||
Long-term debtaffiliate |
26 | |||||||||
Deferred income taxes(5) |
22 | |||||||||
Derivative instruments |
38 | |||||||||
Other non-current liabilities |
27 | |||||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
823 | |||||||||
Total Liabilities |
1,076 | |||||||||
Members' Equity/Stockholders' Equity(6) |
||||||||||
Class A common stock |
||||||||||
Class B common stock |
||||||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
863 | |||||||||
Retained earnings |
29 | |||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
(47 | ) | ||||||||
Member's equity/stockholders' equity attributable to Yieldco, Inc. |
845 | |||||||||
Noncontrolling interest |
| |||||||||
Total Liabilities and Equity |
$ | 1,921 | $ | $ | ||||||
76
Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Balance Sheet
77
SELECTED HISTORICAL COMBINED FINANCIAL DATA
The following table shows summary historical financial data at the dates and for the periods indicated. The summary historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been derived from the audited combined financial statements of our accounting predecessor included elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are intended to represent the financial results of NRG's contracted renewable energy, natural gas and dual-fired electric generation assets and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States that will be contributed to Yieldco LLC as part of the Asset Transfer for those periods. The summary historical financial data is not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in future periods.
The following tables should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the historical combined financial statements and the accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Among other things, the historical combined financial statements include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the information in the following table. The table should also be read together with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and "Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsManagement Services Agreement."
The financial statements of Yieldco Inc. have not been presented in this prospectus as it is a newly incorporated entity, had no business transactions or activities to date and had no assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this section.
78
|
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |||||||
|
(in millions) |
|||||||||
Statement of Income Data: |
||||||||||
Operating Revenues: |
||||||||||
Total operating revenues |
$ | 143 | $ | 164 | $ | 175 | ||||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
||||||||||
Cost of operations |
97 | 104 | 108 | |||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
16 | 22 | 25 | |||||||
General and administrative(1) |
10 | 12 | 13 | |||||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
123 | 138 | 146 | |||||||
Operating Income |
20 | 26 | 29 | |||||||
Other Income/Expense |
||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates(2) |
1 | 13 | 19 | |||||||
Other income/(expense), net |
3 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
Interest expense |
(13 | ) | (19 | ) | (28 | ) | ||||
Total other expense |
(9 | ) | (4 | ) | (7 | ) | ||||
Income Before Income Taxes |
11 | 22 | 22 | |||||||
Income tax expense |
4 | 8 | 9 | |||||||
Net income |
$ | 7 | $ | 14 | $ | 13 | ||||
Other Financial Data: |
||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA(3) |
$ | 40 | $ | 78 | $ | 97 | ||||
Capital expenditure |
(65 | ) | (372 | ) | (558 | ) | ||||
Cash Flow Data: |
||||||||||
Net cash provided by (used in): |
||||||||||
Operating activities |
$ | 44 | $ | 35 | $ | 50 | ||||
Investing activities |
(200 | ) | (466 | ) | (587 | ) | ||||
Financing activities |
170 | 423 | (535 | ) | ||||||
Balance Sheet Data (at period end): |
||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 32 | $ | 24 | $ | 22 | ||||
Property and equipment, net |
526 | 863 | 1,511 | |||||||
Total assets |
787 | 1,239 | 1,921 | |||||||
Long term debtexternal (including current portion) |
331 | 473 | 741 | |||||||
Long term debtaffiliate(4) |
87 | 32 | 26 | |||||||
Total liabilities |
594 | 672 | 1,076 | |||||||
Total equity |
193 | 567 | 845 |
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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion analyzes the historical financial condition and results of operations of our accounting predecessor, or NRG Yieldco. The historical combined financial statements of NRG Yieldco as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 appearing elsewhere in this prospectus were prepared on a "carve-out" basis from NRG and are intended to represent the financial results of NRG's contracted renewable energy and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States that will be contributed to Yieldco LLC as part of the Asset Transfer during those periods.
You should read the following discussion of the historical financial condition and results of operations of our predecessor in conjunction with the historical financial statements and accompanying notes of our predecessor included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainties that may result in actual results differing from statements we make. Please read "Forward-Looking Statements." Factors that could cause actual results to differ include those risks and uncertainties that are discussed in "Risk Factors." Subsequent to the consummation of the Organizational Structure, we will own % of Yieldco LLC's outstanding membership interests.
The discussion and analysis below has been organized as follows:
As you read this discussion and analysis, refer to the combined statements of operations of NRG Yieldco included in this prospectus, which presents the results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, and also refer to the "Business" section of this prospectus for a more detailed discussion about our business, including a description of our industry and our business strengths.
Overview
Company Description
We are a dividend growth-oriented company formed to serve as the primary vehicle through which NRG will own, operate and acquire contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets. We believe we are well positioned to be a premier company for investors seeking stable and growing dividend income from a diversified portfolio of lower-risk high-quality assets. We intend to take advantage of favorable trends in the power generation industry including the growing construction of contracted generation that can replace aging or uneconomic facilities in competitive markets and the demand by utilities for renewable generation to meet their state's RPS.
We own a diversified portfolio of contracted renewable and conventional generation and thermal infrastructure assets in the United States. Our contracted generation portfolio includes three
80
natural gas or dual-fired facilities, eight utility-scale solar and wind generation facilities and two portfolios of distributed solar facilities that collectively represent 1,154 net MW. Each of these assets sells substantially all of its output pursuant to long-term, fixed price offtake agreements to credit-worthy counterparties. The average remaining contract life, weighted by MWs, of these offtake agreements was approximately 17 years as of December 31, 2012. Two of these facilities, El Segundo and CVSR, are in the final stages of construction with expected COD dates of August and October 2013, respectively. We also own thermal infrastructure assets with an aggregate steam and chilled water capacity of 1,098 net MWt and electric generation capacity of 123 net MW. These thermal infrastructure assets provide steam, hot water and/or chilled water, and in some instances electricity, to commercial businesses, universities, hospitals and governmental units in ten locations, principally through long-term contracts or pursuant to rates regulated by state utility commissions.
Substantially all of our thermal assets and the Blythe solar generation assets were operating during the full years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.
Significant Events During the Year Ended December 31, 2012
During the year ended December 31, 2012, Alpine and Avra Valley entered into financing arrangements. In addition, Avra Valley achieved commercial operations in December of 2012.
Significant Events During the Year Ended December 31, 2011
In late 2011, Roadrunner reached commercial operations and entered into the Roadrunner financing arrangement. Construction of El Segundo continued in 2011 and construction began on Alpine, Avra Valley and Borrego. On September 30, 2011, CVSR was acquired by NRG.
Significant Events During the Year Ended December 31, 2010
In 2010, South Trent and the Phoenix Energy Center, a subsidiary of Thermal, were acquired. In addition, construction began on El Segundo and Roadrunner. South Trent, Blythe and Thermal all entered into financing arrangements as further described in Note 9, Long-Term Debt to our audited combined financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Government Incentives
Government incentives enhance the economic viability of our operating assets by providing additional sources of funding for the construction of these assets. NRG has applied for and received cash grants in-lieu of investment tax credits ("ITCs") for assets that are currently operating including Blythe, South Trent, Roadrunner and certain Distributed Generation assets. In addition, NRG has submitted applications for cash grants in lieu of ITCs for Avra Valley and Alpine of $27 million and $72 million, respectively. These amounts were subsequently reduced to $24 million and $65 million, respectively, as a result of the federal government's sequestration. Cash grants are treated as a reduction to the book basis of the property, plant and equipment and reduce the related depreciation over the useful life of the asset. Our equity method investment, CVSR, has obtained a loan guarantee from the DOE in support of its borrowings from the Federal Financing Bank ("FFB") to fund the construction of the facility and has applied for a cash grant in lieu of ITC of $206 million, which was subsequently reduced to $188 million as a result of the federal government's sequestration. In addition, when the final phase of CVSR reaches commercial operations, NRG will submit an application for an additional cash grant of $215 million. If the full amount of the cash grants for Avra Valley, Alpine and CVSR are not received, as a result of review of the application or as a result of the federal government's sequestration, our net income will be reduced by the amount of the additional depreciation, or in the case of CVSR our share of the additional depreciation, over the useful life of the assets, which is approximately 28 years, partially offset by less deferred tax expense.
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Combined Results of Operations of Our Predecessor
|
For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(In millions, except per share amounts)
|
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Operating Revenues |
||||||||||
Total operating revenues |
$ | 175 | $ | 164 | $ | 143 | ||||
Operating Costs and Expenses |
||||||||||
Cost of operations |
108 | 104 | 97 | |||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
25 | 22 | 16 | |||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
13 | 12 | 10 | |||||||
Total operating costs and expenses |
146 | 138 | 123 | |||||||
Operating Income |
29 | 26 | 20 | |||||||
Other Income/(Expense) |
||||||||||
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates |
19 | 13 | 1 | |||||||
Other income, net |
2 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
Interest expense |
(28 | ) | (19 | ) | (13 | ) | ||||
Total other expense |
(7 | ) | (4 | ) | (9 | ) | ||||
Income Before Income Taxes |
22 | 22 | 11 | |||||||
Income tax expense |
9 | 8 | 4 | |||||||
Net Income |
$ | 13 | $ | 14 | $ | 7 | ||||
Year Ended December 31, 2012 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2011
Operating Revenues
Operating revenues increased by $11 million, during the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, as provided in the table below:
|
Renewables | Thermal | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(In millions) |
|||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2012 |
$ | 33 | $ | 142 | $ | 175 | ||||
Year Ended December 31, 2011 |
$ | 26 | $ | 138 | $ | 164 | ||||
Volumes soldyear ended December 31, 2012(a) |
571 | 1,517 | ||||||||
Volumes soldyear ended December 31, 2011(a) |
420 | 1,541 |
The increase in operating revenues is due primarily to increased volume from the Roadrunner facility, which reached commercial operations in late 2011, and additional revenue from distributed solar projects, of which one AZ DG project and all of the PFMG DG projects commenced commercial operations in 2012.
82
Operating Costs
Operating expense increased by $5 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, as provided in the table below:
|
Conventional Generation | Renewables | Thermal | Corporate | Total | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(In millions) |
|||||||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2012 |
$ | 2 | $ | 10 | $ | 106 | $ | 3 | $ | 121 | ||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2011 |
$ | 1 | $ | 7 | $ | 106 | $ | 2 | $ | 116 |
Increase in Renewables operating costs primarily due to an increase in operations and maintenance expense related to Roadrunner reaching commercial operations in 2011 as well as an increase in operations for the two distributed solar portfolios. |
$ | 3 | ||
Increase in general and administrative costs due to an increase in operating assets |
1 | |||
Increase in Conventional Generation operating costs primarily due to an increase in operations and maintenance expense related to El Segundo |
1 | |||