e425
Filed by RRI Energy, Inc.
Pursuant to Rule 425 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
RRI Energy, Inc. (File No.: 1-16455)
Subject Company: Mirant Corporation (File No: 1-16107)
Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon
Webcast
CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS
Ed Muller
Mirant Chairman & CEO
Mark Jacobs
RRI Energy President & CEO
Bill Holden
Mirant CFO
Mike Jines
RRI Energy EVP, General Counsel
CONFERENCE CALL PARTICIPANTS
Michael Lapides
Goldman Sachs Analyst
Steve Fleishman
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Analyst
John Sanato
Deutsche Bank Analyst
PRESENTATION
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
This
thing on? Can you guys hear me? Yes, no? Ill take that as a yes since nobody okay. Im assuming first, Im Ed Muller, the Chairman and CEO of Mirant. And let me introduce the
folks here at the table. At the center is Mark Jacobs, many of you know, the President and Chief
Executive Officer of RRI Energy, who will become President and Chief Operating Officer of GenOn
once we complete this merger later this year.
To Marks left is Rick Dobson, the Chief Financial Officer of RRI Energy. And to my immediately
left is to my immediate left rather is Bill Holden, who is the Chief Financial Officer of Mirant
and who will be the Chief Financial Officer of GenOn once we complete this merger.
[You] have had a chance to look at the materials. And so though we have the materials here, we
dont plan to march through them page by page. We are let me have that clicker if you would. We
will instead take your questions. So let me start by reminding you of the safe harbor. I am not
going to read this thing to you. Im assuming youre all familiar with it. But I do remind you of
it. And we are operating under it. And rather than go page by page, let me just speak briefly from
page three of the materials. So as we take questions and answers, which is what we intend to do
today over lunch, youre free to go anywhere you want, either on the presentation or anywhere else.
So I want to make the points that are really made here to bring them home, to get down to what
is the underlying, driving rationale for this transaction, which we have worked on for a long time.
And that is that we are creating a much the same business with a more efficient structure. If
you like the investment in this sector, then what you have in like the combination of these two companies is the same investment in a
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
more efficient structure. We are scaling the same way as if either of us were to add assets
without having to add commensurate overhead for it because we already have, largely have the
overhead.
And so when we say in that regard were making it efficient, that is that we will remove $150
million of redundant overhead. And that is not a number we have pulled out of thin air. Rather it
is a number that we have worked hard to develop. We largely we know where we will find that $150
million. And we will move forward starting this week. Weve already begun. But well be moving
forward this week in an integration team chaired by Mark and by Bill to actually figure out exactly
how were going to do this so that by the time we close we will be well on our way so that we will
have the $150 million of savings fully realized by the beginning of 2012 as we enter that year.
So with that, please keep eating. But Ill be happy to take your questions rather than drone on and
repeat myself from earlier today. And were all available for your questions. Stunned you into
silence. Or youre chewing.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Unidentified Audience Member
I guess if you guys have spent a lot of time looking at the synergy opportunities and youve
kind of parceled out where theyre going to come from, at least in the abstract sense, can you
share how much of it is actually at the generating plant level? How much of it is kind of
elimination of headcount at the parent level? And how much of it is other efficiencies in the
system, supply chain, and that sort of stuff?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Sure. Mark, you want to ?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Yes, Dan, the answer to your question is all of that $150 million cost savings is coming from
corporate overhead and G&A. So weve made no assumptions in terms of in-plant reduction of
in-plant costs. Just to give you a little bit more color, when you add the combined support costs
for the two companies, its about $390 million. So if you just use simple math and you said half of
that cost structure came from each company, thats about $195 million from each company. And
effectively, what were saying is we can get this accomplished from a scale standpoint by adding
if you started with one of the bases by adding 45 in the corporate support.
Now we are committed to using the best operating practices from each company as weve put the
company together. Im sure were going to find other opportunities as we go along the way. But what
weve put in that $150 million synergy number are things that are within our control that we have a
very high confidence level in, that weve worked to make sure we have a high confidence level in
those. We have not put in things like were going to renegotiate contracts with vendors or
suppliers and get another deal. Now of course, those are going to be things that we pursue. But
thats not in the number that weve provided here.
Unidentified Audience Member
Well, Mark, to take that to the next step then, what do you see as the opportunities
prospectively to look at the generation fleet from the overlap and the ability to pull costs out of
there? Youre going to have pretty good reasonable regional overlap, which seems like theres
got to be some opportunities. Theres got to be some best practices, standard of scale, that sort
of stuff. But then assume that were going to have another conversation in six months where youre
going to talk to synergies 2.0?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Dan, I would set that expectation again. I think what the way weve positioned this today
is what you all ought to hold Ed and myself and Bill and the leadership team of the new company
accountable for is delivering the $150 million of cost savings. And of course, were going to look
at other opportunities. There are I will tell you from the work Ive done, I think there are
things that Mirant does better, has better processes in
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
place than RRI. And conversely, other parts
of the business, I think RRI does a better job. And of course, were going to, as we put the new
company together, utilize the best operating practice from each of our respective companies. But it
would be premature for us to assign any numbers or value with that.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Down here. Let us get a mike to you so that you can be heard. Somebody bring a mike over?
Right over here. Im sorry, this table right in front of me. I apologize. Thank you.
Unidentified Audience Member
This question for both Ed and Mark Mark, from Reliants presentation, weve seen
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
RRIs presentation.
Unidentified Audience Member
Or Reliant. Sorry, RRI Energys presentation you see the slide that you put out there
talking about where we are in the cycle, looking at gas-coal spreads and the implications for RRIs
EBITDA generation ability based on the cycle where we are at. I was just wondering, Ed, if you
share that kind of analysis that RRI has done. Or from Mirants side, how do you see Mirants
ability to generate EBITDA through the cycle? And is that something you guys have thought of Im
assuming have thought about. But could you share with us the combined entity and how that profile
would now look depending on how the cycles play out.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think youre referring to where we are in dark spreads and so on. And I think Mark and I see
this the same way, which is we take as I said earlier in the call today, we take the commodity
curves as we find them. And they will change. That is by definition what a commodity does. But does
the combined company come out differently as a result of this? Not particularly. We have the same
issues or the same issues with dark spreads that we had before. We just have a more efficient
enterprise moving forward in this. Mark?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
I would add to that, Ollie, that one of the attractive things of this transaction from my
perspective is that I believe Mirant has very similar drivers of earnings. And so while were
operating, certainly we all hope the depressed conditions, theyre going to get better over time. I
believe that those factors are going to impact Mirant and RRI in a very similar fashion. And so
from my standpoint, we still maintain that fundamental recovery play against commodity prices. But
as Ed mentioned, we just do it with a far more efficient support infrastructure here and do it in a
way thats going to deliver some value to our shareholders here in the near term.
Unidentified Audience Member
And one other question if I may you all noted that the 2009 pro forma output was 39,600
gigawatt hours as I recall. As you look forward and I know that on, again, on the line side, you
have a much a significant ramp up in your production I think in 10, 11 versus 09. But on a
combined basis, what sort of normalized output should we be thinking about? Is that again a
function of spreads? Or are there efficiencies and capacity factors, et cetera, that we should
think about? What should the combined company be generating?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
Well, were not going to give you a specific number. But and recognize, its a number of
moves. Tell me where heat rates are. Tell me where gas prices are, and we can tell you the answer.
But they will move around. And weve had a period here, where things have been softer. And seeing
the economy is improving, and so we would expect them to improve, including on heat rates. What do
we think will happen with some of the older, least-efficient coal plants in this marketplace? Will
some of them retire? And what will be the impact on those units that dont retire? I think it is
we have an interesting equation with a lot of variables moving simultaneously. So I think its
we cant give you and nor are we going to give you an absolute production number.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
I would add onto that, Ollie, I wouldnt expect the combination to change that number in any
material fashion. So how the respective plants dispatches against a market curve and what that
equation looks like in the transaction here isnt going to fundamentally change the boiler
characteristics and the heat rates of our respective assets.
Unidentified Audience Member
Thanks.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed, I do have a related question.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Sure.
Unidentified Audience Member
What is the Company can you just expand a little bit more on the hedging policy going
forward? And the reason why I make this comment is weve seen you put together hedges on a rolling
basis. And I think its to argue that its helped the Company. And recently, weve sort of come
around to the view that we think were probably at the bottom of the cycle. We know Reliant has a
decently open book.
What I want to understand is and this is based, again, just expounding on some of the other
conversations weve had. While the market doesnt give us the credit of having good hedges,
actually it dings us quite a bit and I think Mark will attest to some of this when you have
really bad hedges and you lose hundreds of millions of dollars on that side. So can you please help
elaborate because I do expect that whether we get the credit or we dont, the Company needs to be
hedging actively.
And by that, I just dont mean putting together hedges for the next three months at the prices that
they are. But at certain points in time where the prices are attractive, you put on hedges. In
certain points in time where the markets arent attractive, you dont put on hedges.
As opposed to having the philosophy that we have right now, I think we have these rolling two-year
hedges. If you can please expand a little bit more on that thinking, Id appreciate some of that.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well, Mark, do you want to start?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Go ahead.
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Let me start. We Mirant has not used a rolling two-year. If you look at our profile, it has
a slope. But were hedged for some of our power and coal out about five years, Bill?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Through 14.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Through 14. And one of the things that that has enabled us to do as we go through our
liquidity planning is take when we stress up and down commodity prices, which we do on a monthly
basis, it enables us to know that on that portion, no stressing needs to be done, right? We know
what that is. And so in terms of how much liquidity we need for the Company, it has a significant
impact.
Second, well, I think through broadly speaking you have to be right. We are somewhere down near the
bottom of the cycle. But this commodities never move in smooth lines. And even if were at the
bottom, we can take another dip. And I dont know where it is. And were right now in a shoulder
period. And so gas prices tend to come down. I dont know what theyre doing today.
And so in terms of the stability of the enterprise, Im not sure that first, I think it brings a
lot of value. This sector had a divergence. And RRI was on the other side of it. And we debated it.
And investors debated it whether hedge, dont hedge. And I think we are today, both companies, as
Mark said this morning, we have the same approach today and maybe some issues on tactics, how long,
and so on.
But I dont think the market dings us much for it currently because the market has tended to place
these companies based on their earning power on an open EBITDA basis. And so if were hedged, yes,
theres and the market rises. Weve left a little money on the table. And thatll be subtracted
out. But in terms of looking at whats the value here, if you take out the hedges, looking at the
multiples, I dont think were being realistically dinged. In fact, I dont think we are at all.
And what we are able to do is have a healthy company to ride through these cycles. And had we not
hedged, we wouldnt be having this discussion. None of you would be getting lunch because we
wouldnt have been able to afford it. And so I think it is a near-term potential price we pay.
Sometimes were better at it than others. But what it does do is it provides stability. And it
enables us to manage the balance sheet much more effectively.
If we dont hedge, as we come down and we do liquidity planning and when I speak about liquidity
planning, that is both that is stressing commodity prices up and down because you can die in
this business when prices rise because youre posting collateral. You need cash. And we have
varying structures to minimize that. But nevertheless, youre posting cash. And if you dont have
that cash, game is over. And so and you can have the same problem going down.
And you can say, as you and I do I think, surely that were somewhere near the bottom of this
cycle. But could we see a dip again? Sure we can. And gas prices can go down even more. Are we for
sure out of the woods economically? Probably we are. But I dont know that for sure. And so in
doing that liquidity planning, the more we are unhedged, particularly in the near term in our
planning cycle, the more liquidity we need.
And as an investor, I think youd look and thats the way I think about it because I own the
whole company do I want to have all that liquidity parked around here because that money costs
money? Mark, do you want to or Ive gone on too long.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Yes, I would add onto that. I think philosophically weve had very similar approaches on the
hedging. And again, I think where the differences youve seen is been tactically how weve gone
about that. So I am certainly of the belief that some level of hedging to mitigate the commodity
price volatility that we see makes sense. I mean, if you didnt do any hedging, you would literally
have to have a capital structure that has no debt in it.
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
We have applied that in a two-year to get free cash flow breakeven. Mirant has had a it has a
different capital structure. So theyve set different targets, have historically had a little bit
longer timeframe. I think when we put the new company together, well have to figure out what makes
the most sense for the new company. But most of that debt structure is going to come over. And so
my expectation is that the hedging policy for the new company going forward is going to look more
akin to what the existing Mirant policy does than what the existing RRI policy does.
Unidentified Audience Member
So help me just to understand and maybe its a subtle question how much of the hedging
is for you to get a clearer picture for the next two years or the next year forward? Or how much of
it is to hedge your liquidity needs? And thats probably what Im missing. Is it just to hedge out
your cash requirements of debt interest, service, and CapEx? Or is it you trying to provide
stability to the platform for the next two years and still retaining the upside for the next
remaining life of the assets?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
And the answer is both. We have we generally have not had an ironclad rule. It takes
months, years, percentage of cash flow, and so on. We have been relatively opportunistic in trying
to maintain the profile that youve seen year after year with us with one proviso. And that is we
do our liquidity planning.
And when our liquidity planning where we stress commodities up and down when that tells us
that we could find ourselves if that were to happen in circumstances that would not we wouldnt
like vis-a-vis our debt covenants, for example, then we have hedged further to eliminate that risk.
And that in a formulaic way is the only way weve moved forward, as I say, formulaicly. Right
behind you. Paul?
Unidentified Audience Member
All right, heres the social question. CEOs are sometimes have strong personalities. And
you guys are going to have to work together for a period of time. And sometimes I dont know.
Im thinking of previous transactions where thats been difficult sometimes for CEOs. What kind of
comfort do you guys have? Obviously, you must have some.
If you could just sort of elaborate a little bit on that, that issues obviously something I assume
you guys have looked at. But also, if there is a problem, conflict resolution, just sort of how
should we think about the ability of you guys to get along? And if there sometimes it doesnt
happen, what would that mean to the transaction and what have you?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Paul, let me take that. Its a great question. Its a fair question to ask. I will tell you it
is we have thought a lot about the M&A landscape. My perspective is that Mirant and RRI are the
most compatible from a strategy standpoint the way the the underlying philosophies that we bring
to managing the Company I think are very closely aligned. Ed and I have spent a lot of time talking
about that. I have derived great comfort from the belief that we are strategically aligned here.
And I am committed to making this thing work as I know Ed is committed to making this thing work.
Its the right thing for our shareholders to do this. I think theres great benefit in having a
longer-term leadership succession for the new company, where theres not an open question in
peoples mind if kind of what happens down the road.
And look, Ive worked with a lot of different people over my career. I am highly confident Ed and I
are going to work very well together. Are we going to agree on everything? Most certainly were
not. But I think one of the benefits of a transaction like this is to be able to get the
perspective of other people that are very knowledgeable at the business. Weve thought about things
a certain way. Mirant has as well. And Im really looking forward to some of the conversations and
discussions were going to have as we plot out how we go for with GenOn Energy going forward.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Let me just echo that. I couldnt agree more. I think Mark stated it exactly right. And as
someone said to me when I walked in here, to get a transaction like this done requires a couple of
grown ups. A merger of equals is a very complex transaction to negotiate. When youre negotiating
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
a
purchase or a sale, youre negotiating over consideration. And once you reach consideration, the
buyer makes all the decisions. Its over. In a merger like this one, a true merger of equals, it is
much more complicated. We have to agree on things. And it took us awhile to get here.
But in that process, I think we have learned that weve already had got an advanced degree in
working together, which is why it also doesnt happen in 30 days or whatever. So this is not an
issue that concerns me, nor one that I think should concern you.
Unidentified Audience Member
Is there any I mean, if there is irreconcilable not to be the prenuptial, what have you,
but sort of like, I mean, if there is a complex what is there a resolution methodology, or
?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well, remember, Paul, we did not and this we agreed on early. We did not set this up as
Co-CEOs.
Unidentified Audience Member
Right.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I will for the three years until I retire be the CEO of the Company. And Mark will be the
President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. And I think Co-CEOs is a much tougher
arrangement because youve got to decide everything together. But my style of management and
Bill will laugh if Im wrong is to get input from particularly the senior group with which I
work. And I think it is incumbent on me to develop a consensus there. And I think in the past I
have accomplished that. And I cant say developing a consensus is always done in five minutes or
two minutes or three days or one week.
But I think its important for any organization that everybodys on board not just because the
captain has said charge up the hill but because everybody agrees thats the right hill. This is the
time. Lets go do it. And thats how well operate. And Mark and I will operate that way along with
everyone else who reports to us.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. And then just in terms of operating expenses, obviously, when were talking about 2012
and beyond, its getting a little far out there. Are there any trends, I mean, just generally
speaking, outside of the merger that we should be aware of that may have changed things, helped
clear a passage, whatever, that have changed your perspective in terms of operating costs at that
period in time?
In other words, all things being equal, would they be higher from what you may have previously
expected, or because when we look at that $150 million, the question sort of comes up. On what
kind of base is that? What are we really thinking about? Just if you would elaborate a little more
on that.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
You want to let Bill take that? Bill, you ?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Sure. The just to put it in context, if you look at the total G&A and support costs for the
two companies and so this would be everything outside of the plant as Mark said, its about
$390 million. And were going to reduce that by $150 million. With respect to other developments,
there are none that come to mind, particularly on the Mirant side. And I think you can stick to
RRI. But there are none that come to mind that would be material changes from what weve said in
the past.
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
Unidentified Audience Member
Are there any tax or other things that we should think about other than this that might be
opportunities that you guys are also contemplating? Or is this pretty much encompassing all the
savings that youre looking at?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Yes, let me see if I can this question has come up. The $150 million is real. We know how
were going to do it. And were going to do it. And our approach is when we tell you were going
to do something, were going to do it. And otherwise, were always working. We will be in all
aspects of the enterprise, as we always are and as both companies are today. And well always look
for ways to do it better. Mark has talked about getting best practices from both companies, exactly
the right thing to do.
But beyond that, were not prepared to go. Is there another dollar there? Of course there is. Where
is it? We dont know yet. And when its there, well tell you its there. But were not going to
promise something until we know what it is and we can deliver it. Over there, sure. Brian?
Unidentified Audience Member
Are the collateral sensitivities for the combined company lower than the collateral
sensitivities for each company separately? And then Ive got a follow-up question after that.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Bill, do you want to take that?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Yes, I havent seen anything yet that would make the sensitivity, the collateral requirements
different for the combined company than the sum of the two. That said, when the companys combined,
well have to look at overlapping counterparties and that sort of thing to see if theres a
material difference. But at this point, I havent seen anything that would suggest that that would
be the case.
Unidentified Audience Member
And then if I understand it right, Mirant has collateralized lien structures. Reliant largely
doesnt.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
RRI.
Unidentified Audience Member
RRI.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
We charge a $20 fine at our company for using that word now.
Unidentified Audience Member
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
Are you on the RRI side considering putting on collateralized lien structures ahead of time?
Or how are you thinking about that? Is it just going to be operations, your plain old MO going
forward until after the deal closes?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Yes, Brian, we had talked about Rick has been since last summer talked about a
collateral-efficient vehicle that we were looking at. I think given the transaction here, rather
than us trying to go do that independently, were really going to be working that in the context of
the overall transaction. And thatll be something that Bill and team will look at in terms of in
the best way to put the finances of the combined company together.
Unidentified Audience Member
And then one last question I think you indicated on the conference call that on the Mirant
side the NOLs exercising the NOLs, theres a sort of five-year window. Can you just go into the
mechanics of why is it that the NOLs got pushed out by five years?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Yes, I
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
As much as Id love to do this, Im going to let Bill do this.
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Ill take a shot at this. What happens is when the merger closes, therell be a change in
ownership for tax purposes of each company. And so that means that the ability to use the NOLs will
be reset. And what I mentioned this morning is the expectation based on the current stock price
levels. And the ability to use the annual use limitations get reset based on the market
capitalization of the company times the long-term federal tax exempt rate.
What also happens, though, that affects the first five years is we find ourselves in the net
unrealized built-in loss position. And as you probably heard explained on some of the Mirant
conference calls, the net unrealized built-in loss or the new BIL actually offsets the ability to
use the NOLs. And that occurs for the first five years following the change in ownership.
At the current stock price levels, the effect of the new bills would fully offset the ability to
utilize the NOLs. And then after five years, so beginning in year six, we think the Company would
have in the range of $100 million to $125 million per year available for use on the NOL.
Unidentified Audience Member
So if the unrealized loss balance moves around, then the timing of when you could exercise the
NOLs can change, so might be more or less than five years? Is that ?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
I think the way to think about it is that it wouldnt change the five years. But it would
change the amount of the net unrealized built-in loss that is offset against the NOL, the annual
use limitation.
Unidentified Audience Member
Just a real quick follow up on that so is it a postponement of the use of the NOLs? Or is a
loss of the first few years of the NOLs?
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Bill Holden Mirant CFO
The NOLs run for different time periods depending on when they were generated. I think the
first ones begin to expire around in 2022. And so what it really means is that we wouldnt have the
NOLs available for use during the first five years. Then beginning in year six, those same NOLs
would be available subject to the new annual use limitation until they expire.
Unidentified Audience Member
Yes, as you guys mentioned, [the] companies are very similar. One difference I guess has been
environmental strategy, whereas Mirant spent a lot of money on environmental equipment, RRI I
got that right
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Very good.
Unidentified Audience Member
went with the buying the allowances, which actually ended up working out pretty well, but
as you go forward might have environmental risk. So I guess two questions one is, from a Mirant
perspective, how did you analyze the RRI environmental position when kind of figuring out your
exchange? And maybe just give some thought process on that, Ed. And then from a combined-company
perspective, what is going to be the strategy on environmental? Is it going to be similar to what
RRI has been saying, kind of the tier plants? Or is there any other change in terms of the thinking
there?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Let me lets make sure were all on the same page because what you said was accurate. But
Mirant didnt have to make a decision about whether it was going to put on environmental controls
on our coal plants in Maryland. The Maryland legislature made that decision for us by enacting the
Maryland Healthy Air Act, which required us to do so. So it made economic sense. And we did it. But
we had a legislative mandate with which we complied and got it done.
And for anyone whos interested, we built four scrubbers simultaneously in Maryland. And it was an
accelerated timeframe. And I got them done on schedule. And all four of them are operating. And to
our knowledge, this was the largest single program of building scrubbers that any company had
underway in the United States at the time.
RRI, youve described correctly, has classified its plants [as closely] in tiers Mark can go on
longer and is looking at it in terms of an economic investment. And that is exactly what should
be done and what we will do. I think that makes perfect sense. And we took that into account as we
analyzed the transaction and had our views on how that would play out and when and if and what
would get have controls put on it. Mark, do you want to add? Or did I ?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
No, Ed, I think you captured the points. Again, were going to look at this from an economic
standpoint. I have said before and continue to believe that getting more clarity on the rules is
important so you know what youre investing into because at the end of the day, these are capital
investment dollars. And if were going to put them to work, we want to have a reasonable level of
confidence that were going to earn a return that exceeds our cost to capital. And again, thats
hard to do if you dont know what the regulatory regime is.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Okay.
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Michael Lapides Goldman Sachs Analyst
Thanks, Ed. Michael Lapides of Goldman. When you work with the combined portfolio post
closing, in the regions where you already have assets, are there any holes in terms of type of
asset that you would like to fill kind of post closing strategically over a three- to five-, three-
to seven-year timeframe? And outside of where you have concentrations of assets, are there regions
that you look at and say, wow, I really wish we had a position in market XYZ?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think of it a little differently. Its a very good question. But we are in a very basic
business. And that is quite mature. And its a business that I happen to be extremely fond of. But
I think deciding, waking up one morning and saying Ive got to have a power plant over here or ten
of them or this kind without saying what the price is, what I think is going to happen in the
market is a way to march into serious trouble. It is not or if youre lucky, into big winnings.
But Im not interested in throwing the dice in this business.
So do we see something that we say we have to fill in or have and so on? The answers no. And I
dont think it is prudent in this business to have a list of I must have one of these and Im going
to pay for it no matter what it costs.
At the right price, were interested. I think both companies have had a practice and will continue
this of being disciplined investors. And it is hard in this sector to find I think good investments
that really generate a return that is worthy of putting the money at use. From time to time,
theyre there. From Mirant, the marsh landing project out in California, where we will be building
a new [peaking] facility, has met those criteria. But it is hard. And no one should pretend that it
is easy. Mark, any ?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
I agree. And I think that goes back to the comments I made on, Paul, to your question,
philosophies, earlier. And we are Ed and I think about this thing very, very similar in terms of
the difficulty in getting attractive rates of return on new investments. So you should expect us to
be very disciplined looking forward. That doesnt mean were not saying no to everything. But it
does mean that were going to be utilize a healthy dose of skepticism in looking at
opportunities and make sure that were convinced theyre going to add value.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
We have Steve Fleishman. Steve?
Steve Fleishman Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Analyst
Yes, just one other question on the more of a logistical question. Just when would the
shareholder votes likely be? And what are the voting requirements of each company?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Probably if I get this I think the voting requirements first are these it is 50% plus 1%
for the Mirant of those voting. And for RRI, it is 50% plus 1%, provided that at least 50% must
actually be voting. And we would expect them to be later this year. Again, itll be tied to the
regulatory approvals and SEC clearance of the proxy prospectus or what have you that we have to put
together. But we would expect it to be sometime in the second half of this year coming up. Over
here.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed, I guess Reliant has kind of given
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
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RRI.
Unidentified Audience Member
RRI and I got in trouble for the note this morning, too. Its okay. RRI has given us tiers
I, II, and III as far as environmental CapEx obligations are concerned. Can you just talk a little
bit more to what you guys might have to do on the Mirant legacy fleet as far as additional upgrades
of compliance measures at the plants, kind of what phase and period youd see and different CAIR
standards or CAMR standards where we might see more spending?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think the big issue that we that the Mirant plants have and Mark will speak to the RRI
plants weve scrubbed all of our Maryland coal fleet and are not able, given space and so on, to
scrub the Potomac River station. I think the issue facing not just us but the whole industry here
is water, where most of the older plants use once-through cooling. And theres an effort to end
once-through cooling.
And so that leads to potential for large capital costs and whether they are justified. And if
theyre not justified, we wouldnt make them. But I think that is sort of a longer roll out. But I
think thats the issue that I see floating out there for the Mirant plant. Thanks. Let us get you a
mike so that we can hear.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed, just and Mark just a question in terms of the way you described the deal was youre
basically creating the same company, the same exposures through a more efficient vehicle just in
terms of the synergies and the NOL monetization and so forth. But just a question I mean,
obviously, Mirant as an eastern PJM has more exposure to especially to a gas-coal spread. Reliant
is more sort of a
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
RRI.
Unidentified Audience Member
Thats the fourth time. Okay. RRI is more sort of coal on coal with a sort of an influence of
gas to coal. So in terms just thinking about the key (inaudible) in terms of what are gas prices
and what are dark spreads, I do agree that its sort of a more efficient structure. And it looks
like to works in a down take and an uptake.
But there is some differential exposure which each of you are taking on as it relates to the sort
of changing the mix to more coal on coal in western PGM and coal on gas in eastern PGM. How did you
guys think about that respectively? What kind of thoughts around coal plant retirements are basing
your views? I mean, could the reliant assets ultimately be retired? How does that factor in, in
sort of the encompassing value in the different regions and so forth?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think without going through the particulars of the fruits of our respective analyses, the
very subjects that youve described are the subjects that we gave a lot of thought to and did a lot
of work on in assessing both risk and what we think the likely outcomes are under various scenarios
there. And I think we got very comfortable. And Mark will speak for RRI. We got very comfortable
that this made sense in a range of possible outcomes. Again, to repeat what I said earlier, we are
in a commodity business. We burn commodities. And we produce a commodity. So we have multiple
commodities.
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And theyre not always correlated in the same way. So it will come out differently than any one
scenario we could lay out. But in looking at a variety of scenarios, we on the Mirant side, having
done a lot of work on this, got very comfortable that this makes sense under a variety of
scenarios. Mark?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Id say, Zach, I think thats a good question. I do think the fundamental factors that drive
earnings power impact both companies to be sure, though, there are things that could happen
prospectively that would benefit RRI, assets vis-a-vis Mirant assets. And accordingly, theres
things that could benefit Mirant assets vis-a-vis RRI assets.
I will tell you, as I looked at these, which I did very, very carefully, I came to the conclusion
that the value coming out of this from the cost savings was going to be good in virtually any
circumstance here, even how those played out.
The other thing I would point out is that I think those factors are very well understood by the
market. So just take the potential environmental spend that RRI has coming down, I think we
provided a lot of disclosures to market on what that could look like, how were thinking about
that. And so my sense is that information is very well digested by the market. And the market has
put a value on all of those factors in coming up with how its valued Mirant and how its valued
RRI.
And from the get go, as I said, Ed and I were aligned around the market does a pretty good job of
taking those things into account. And therefore, an after market made sense. Were not going to try
to go argue with each other. Well, its not picking this us or not picking that up, where somebody
ought to get a premium. But really, a principle that the market is does a good job valuing with
what its got today.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well start down front here, yes.
Unidentified Audience Member
A few questions, one for Ed and one for Mark Ed, I guess is there something about 2013?
Whats the meaning of that particular year? Does that relate to something, commodity cycles or
something along those lines?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
The meaning is it was a subject that Paul Patterson I think raised the question of the
issue of two CEOs negotiating this. And this was something that we negotiated. I am ten years older
than Mark. I know I dont look it. I didnt look about 30 years older. And it was something we
negotiated. It also happens to work for me personally in what my family would like me to do, which
is important to me. And I report to a higher order than boards of directors and stockholders when
it comes to my family. So thats all there is no commodity cycle to it, nothing else. It is
simply both what we negotiated and what my family would like me to do.
Unidentified Audience Member
And then I guess to Mark, you I guess it was Brooks put out some information last week down
in Texas about sifting through the impact of environmental regulations, what that might mean for
colder time. And then following on, there could be millions of hundreds of millions of
tons of impact on coal demand and kind of follow on for coal prices and profitability. Just curious
if you could expound a little bit upon that and then how you see that following through to the
how you thought about the Mirant proposition.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Right. Well, I would say this. Theres been a lot of conversation on coal obviously these
days. And I think its fair to say here that coal has been very much out of favor. I know from our
standpoint I know Ed agrees with this as well that coal is going to play a very important role
in helping this country meet its future electricity needs. Theres just no question about that.
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Now are we going to see additional environmental regulations and rules over time? I certainly
expect that we will. And thats going to translate into higher cost for us. I think one of the
observations that Rogers was making that youre picking up on last week is a lot of the analysis we
see is what Ill call first-order effect. Were going to see all these environmental regulations.
And its going to shutdown a meaningful part of the coal fleet.
I think that what he was really getting at is just encouraging people to think through what are the
second-order effects if that then were to happen. That would mean the demand for coal is going to
go down quite significantly. That means reserve margins will tighten quite significantly. And in
many respects, if that scenario plays out that way and I said this on our last earnings call
I think were going to see a quicker rebound in the sector here than we will if a lot of this more
marginal coal generation stays around for awhile.
I will tell you from our own standpoint, today, those plants that are on the margin are not making
much of any contribution margin. But they are certainly having an impact on where the market clears
in terms of heat rates.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Go ahead.
Unidentified Audience Member
Thanks. A couple of times this morning, it was mentioned that this is the only transaction
that you guys found that could be executed that created comparable value. And I was just wondering
if each of you could address is it that other transactions that created more value couldnt get
executed or that other transactions that could get executed couldnt didnt create the same
value?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Yes, were not going to go into details. I think itd be entertaining. But I think that both
companies have a track record of not being as not have entrenched management, as having explored
alternatives. This is not a huge sector where you dont know whats going on out there. And I think
its fair that Mark and I and our counterparts all know whats going on out there and whos
interested in what and whos not.
And we are very comfortable with the statement that there is we see nothing out there, no other
transaction that could be executed that would create comparable value. And I think well stop right
there. But theres no if youre thinking theres some sneaking around there or something, there
just isnt.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. Thanks. And just as a follow up, at what point did you guys enter exclusive discussions?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
We started these discussions in the fall of 09. And I dont think they ever became exclusive
discussions.
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
No, they actually became exclusive discussions yesterday when we signed the merger agreement.
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Yes, thats right.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed, can you explain a little bit in more detail why you need New York State Public Service
Commission approval? Im not quite sure I understand all the
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Sure.
Unidentified Audience Member
Is there something with the plant, or ?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Yes, unusual among the states, New York the New York Public Service Commission asserts
jurisdiction, any time title to a power plant changes hands, power plants owned by companies like
RRI and Mirant. Most states do not. So we got all these plants, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
California, and other states, Ohio. And we have none of those requirements there.
New York has asserted this jurisdiction. And so we will comply. And theres nothing particular
about us. And theres nothing particular about our plant. Its the Bowline plant up the river here.
It is simply that the Bowline plant is physically located in New York State. Thats all it is. And
we dont expect it to be an issue at all. To the extent the commission would be concerned about
anything Im sorry. Was that me? To the extent the commission would be concerned about anything,
it would be anti-competitive impacts.
And with one plant in the state, its fairly obviously you cant have anti-competitive impact. RRI,
as I said earlier, has no generating assets in the state of New York. So its just an assertion of
jurisdiction by the Public Service Commission. And we will, of course, comply. Jeff?
Unidentified Audience Member
As far as the financing of the deal goes, could you please elaborate on the specific I guess
purpose of having to refinance if the PEDFA bonds at RRI and the secured bonds?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Yes, do you want to ?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Yes, so as Bill said I think very well this morning, we went down the route where RRI would be
the acquirer. And that would trigger the least amount of [change-in-controlled] debt. That being
the case, we dont trigger the [change-in-control] on the secured debt. But there are underlying
covenants in the secured debt that would make it well, make it impossible for us to bulk the
[mars sub] on without some type of a consent or with them being taken out. Thats the best way I
can say it. I mean, Andrew, our Treasurer, can give you the section numbers. And we had [talents
have] a look at it. And they can go through that detail. I just cant articulate any more detail
than that right now.
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
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Maybe I can just add a little bit. As I mentioned this morning, we wanted to preserve as much
of the debt structures of both companies as possible. And what that means on the Mirant side is
that the MAG notes can remain outstanding. And in order to add the MAG notes underneath RRI it
didnt cost me $20 this time in order to add the MAG notes under RRI, we need to address the
secured debt.
There wouldve been requirements in the RRI secured debt that wouldve required MAG to become a
guarantor of those secured notes, which we couldnt do with the MAG notes. And so its really we
need to address the secured debt at RRI in order to accomplish the objective of combining the
capital structures and retaining as much of the debt as we can.
Unidentified Audience Member
I had one more question on the financing. Is the deal contingent on any sort of achieved price
level of the GenOn financing that is to come?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Bill?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
We have agreed. There is a financing condition in the deal. And what youll see in the merger
agreement is that we have agreed on the basic terms of what each company has agreed would become
would be adequate financing.
Unidentified Audience Member
Theres no specific price, just adequate financing.
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Weve thought about it in terms of an overall price thats still, overall pricing for the
entire aggregate of the financing, that thatd still preserve enough of the value of the cost
savings for the owners of the company to make it worth doing, though we theres not a specific
price that Id be willing to mention here that says we would go or no go.
Unidentified Audience Member
Is it quantified in interest costs? Or is there a way to quantify what that level is other
than interest rate? Or is it not disclosed?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
I think wed prefer not to speculate on what that might be.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Over here. Go ahead.
Unidentified Audience Member
Just following up on Jeffs question, on the PEDFA bonds, are holders of those bonds allowed
to individually negotiate with you basically said what you where you do your sort of
floor. But lets say folks liked those bonds and didnt want to let go of them and even were
willing to
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forego some premiums to keep them around, is there are you allowed to negotiate with
folks individually if those folks waive those covenants that prove problematic in this new
structure?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think the best thing on the PEDFA bonds right now to say would be were going to Bill and
I are going to sit down with our teams right after we get back from New York. And were going to
put together a plan that makes the most sense for the companies. And that involves discussions with
PEDFA bondholders around consents. And that makes sense for them and for us. Then we may go down
that path. The technicality is how we would talk to people and how wed go through. We havent
decided on that yet.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. Thanks.
Unidentified Audience Member
A question about the potential RRI coal plant retirement that we may see and the coal plants
that are in buckets II, III, and IV for RRI, I think the second-order effect of the economics of
retirement is very interesting.
But would it be possible to mothball those plants for a number of years, for one, two, or three
years, and then make the decision subsequently and maybe get those plants back up 2017 with
scrubbers, for example, if the second-order effects and the economics materially change the plant
that might look appear to be uneconomic in 2013, looking at 2015 that might appear to be
uneconomic but a couple years down the road maybe that would switch, so to preserve some of the
option value of the RRI coal fleet.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Mark?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Yes, John, just to be clear, we dont have any plans to close any plants right now. Again, as
weve talked about before, these are challenging times. Weve made some modifications to the way we
operate some of those plants, in some cases going to a seasonal model here. And again, those are
decisions that well have to make. Again, my sense is understand, Ed and I have had
conversations about that. But were going to make what are good economic decisions in terms of what
makes the most sense.
Some of the units my take is its going to be difficult to economically justify scrubbers on
plants of very old vintage that are small, that have heat rates that are not as competitive as
newer coal assets. And I think a lot of that ultimately gets to what does the regulatory regime
look like. If were in a max type of standard, as I said, itll be different than if were in a
cap-and-trade program. And so those are all, as I said, decisions were going to be making here as
we go forward.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. A second follow up to that would be are there any technical restrictions to buying
back stock for any period of time just with covenants or anything that you see coming from this
merger that would prevent you technically from doing that?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Bill, are you able to answer that?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
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I dont theres nothing that I can think of on the Mirant side with RRI. Our secured debt
does have some RP baskets of which weve gotten quite sizeable baskets. But again, those are on the
list of securities that are to be addressed.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think that question will be better answered after we have the terms of the new financing
established.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. Thanks.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Go ahead in the back.
Unidentified Audience Member
You mentioned sorry, you mentioned that $1.8 billion of debt needs to be addressed. And
from your comments, I gathered that most of it is going to be replaced with new debt. And as of
now, is it fair to assume that most of that would be secured debt at the GenOn level?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Bill?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Well, I think what weve said is the new debt we expect would be at the GenOn level. It would
be a mix of a revolving credit facility, new revolving credit facility, and then a term loan and
unsecured notes. And then what that mix is I think will again, well be in a better position to
discuss that after weve been in the market.
Unidentified Audience Member
And the current RRI unsecureds would remain at the GenOn level, correct?
Bill Holden Mirant CFO
Correct.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Correct.
Unidentified Audience Member
Okay. Thank you.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
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Right here.
Unidentified Audience Member
Ed, with the combined balance sheet and all this cash on the balance sheet, have your views on
growth changed in any which way? And have you can you share any thoughts on diversifying away
from all the coal exposure we have?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
My thoughts on growth have not changed. And cash should never burn in my judgment burn a
hole in your pocket. And good transactions, largely good acquisitions of assets, for example,
should be financeable. I think that we look, as we said earlier and Mark and I have talked about
this at length I think we are one mind on this. We want to invest for appropriate return.
There are challenges operating coal plants, particularly these days. But coal is going to be part
of the equation for a long time. I will remind you of one of my favorite songs. Half the
electricity being consumed in this country everyday comes from coal. And everybody in this room
and I see all those Blackberries or iPods or whatever going. Everybody in this room has used on
average, like every American uses, about 20 pounds of coal a day. And I dont see that changing
anytime soon.
So we have some compression of dark spreads now. We see how that may change. We are at a the
economy is only coming out. We have a flood of natural gas right now. I have lived with natural gas
at I dont remember where the low was but it was a buck and very little change. And I have
lived with natural gas at about $15 a million BTUs. And I have lived with oil at something like
eight bucks a barrel and oil at 147 bucks a barrel.
And at every point along the way in both those commodities, there were lots of people saying now we
have found the true price. And this is where its going to stay. And there is no true price with a
commodity. And gas is not going to be where it is today. Its done. Im not going to tell you
whether its going up or down because I dont know.
So we think this remains a lot of value in those coal assets. Theres a challenge anywhere you are
in the power generating business. And were not running away from coal. If we see opportunities
elsewhere, we will pursue them. But it is only because we think it is a good investment of our
owners dollars. Otherwise, were not interested. Theres some sure.
Unidentified Audience Member
You discussed the idea that you were planning on closing the deal before the end of the year
and that it would be youd be needing the New York approval, which you discussed earlier, the
FERC approval, and I guess finance access approval and [BC].
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Correct.
Unidentified Audience Member
Looking at transactions similar to yours from the past, how long have each of those approvals
taken for comparable transactions?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well, I think let me try on this and see if I get it right. Mike, if Im off, help me. Mike
Jines is General Counsel of RRI and who will be the General Counsel of GenOn is here.
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I think we have reached the conclusion that we can get this done comfortably this year looking at
comparables and looking at each of the approvals needed and putting out a timeline. So this is not
just throwing something at the wall. In the broad sector of electricity, transactions have
frequently taken much, much longer, much longer. And the reason is this. They have involved
entities that have regulated utilities. And the state regulators have the obligation, which they
ought to meet, of protecting and maximizing things for their consumers, the so-called ratepayers.
And that has tended to add a lot of time.
We neither company today has any retail customers. Neither company has state regulatory approval
of what we charge. So we dont see those as being comparable if you take some of the other big
transactions, Exelon seeking to merge with Public Service Electric and Gas, having to get through a
bunch of states and going into my old home state of New Jersey and getting tangled up there. We
dont see those. And theyre not comparable.
Unidentified Audience Member
And for the transactions that are comparable, how long have they taken?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I dont have the specifics. What I do know is weve gone through and said how long do we think
itll take to get Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance. How long do we think its going to take to get
Public Service Commission approval in New York? How long do we think itll take to get FERC
approval? How long will it take us to clear the SEC on our documents? And thats whats led us to
be very comfortable saying well get it done this year.
John Sanato Deutsche Bank Analyst
[John Sanato] from Deutsche Bank. Just a quick one following up on that theme, Ed, have you
made an assumption about whether the government will outsource the review on market power to the
FERC, as theyve done in some prior transactions, so youll sort of potentially have to wait for
FERC before that piece could go forward? Or is that are both scenarios encompassed in your
timeframe?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I know weve had people whom I respect enormously work all this through. And I dont know the
answer. Does anyone up here know the answer? Or, Mike, do you know the answer? If we can get a mike
on Mike over here. Thank you. This is Mike Jines.
Mike Jines RRI Energy EVP, General Counsel
Yes, as you can imagine, weve had Skadden and Wachtell regulatory lawyers with both firms go
through and look at the FIRC situation. Weve engaged economists that make it a practice of
practicing before the DOJ on the HSR, the Hart-Scott-Rodino, issues as well as economists that
practice before FIRC whove taken a look at the transaction. We believe that the transaction should
be capable of being processed expeditiously by FERC. We wouldnt expect that there are going to be
significant anti-trust considerations or concerns raised either on the HSR side or on the FERC
side.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Thanks. Yes.
Unidentified Audience Member
Hi. So this is a slightly different question. But based on the synergy that youre talking
about, you guys have a little bit of an operational challenge in the next 12, 18 months given I
know youre not doing anything at the plant level. But you have maybe 30% to 40% of your corporate
workforce that would have a job a certain time from now. So how are you going to deal with morale
and kind of internal control and other types of issues through this time?
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Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well, thats a very good question. And you have described correctly the task in front of us.
Were dealing with people who have done a very good job. We have a variety at both companies of
commitments to people in terms of severance [in] change-of-control situations. We will honor all of
those. And we think we have a plan where we can manage through this. Its a hard time for people.
No one likes to face this. And no one could ever like to do this as Mark and I are doing this. But
it is the right thing to do for the Company. Its the right thing to do for the owners. We have an
obligation to be both sensitive and humane and fair with our employees. And we will be. And well
get through it. But its not to say its easy.
Unidentified Audience Member
I guess my question is companies have to operate independently until that time.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Correct.
Unidentified Audience Member
And so how do you motivate people between now and then?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Well, I mean, we think we have adequate in our various severance and change-of-control plans
enough motivation largely for folks so that they will continue to have jobs that will go for some
time with some of those jobs will come to an end at the closing, which is sometime later this
year, nothing before that. And some of them will go beyond.
And so we will have to demonstrate to people why it is a good arrangement for them to do that. And
I think we can do that. As I say, its not easy. We are dealing here with humans who deserve to be
treated fairly. But we see a path to do that. But remember, we would not expect to see a single job
loss prior to the closing. And the closing is sometime towards the in the latter half of this
year. And for some people, we will need them for the transition to stay beyond. And I think we can
work that out. Sure.
Unidentified Audience Member
Good afternoon. Ed, your team had discussed in the last quarter call potential test burns and
potential coal procurement improvements at Mirant. Is there are there any updates youre
prepared to provide at this point?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
No, what we said then was correct. And everything in our sector here in test burns and so on
takes time. And these are not one-day things. And to remind everyone, boilers for coal plants, for
all coal plants on the fleet at RRI and at Mirant, are custom designed for kinds of coal. So we
dont just take a different lump and throw it in there and say thats it. So were very careful
with it. So we dont have any updates at this time. But we are working on it.
Unidentified Audience Member
And just a second quick question just with regards to 2011 and potential cost savings
there, I mean, I know you threw out this $150 million number. But sort of nearer term, any
potential numbers or ranges?
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Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Were not prepared to give you the number. But we do expect we will start seeing the
savings in 2011.
Unidentified Audience Member
All right. Great. Thank you.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
And we will be updating you each quarter on how were doing. Brian?
Unidentified Audience Member
I think, Ed, both you and Mark, over the years has been a lot more open-minded in my opinion
about potentially selling your respective companies as well as buying assets. But as you guys
pointed out in your slides, youre now going to be one of the largest power generators in the
country. So the small IPP waiting to be gobbled up story really no longer applies to both of you I
think. Do you share that view? Do you think that relative to where you were before the potential
for M&A down the road skews more towards you being the acquirer rather than the acquiree?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
Mark, you want to take this?
Mark Jacobs RRI Energy President & CEO
Thanks, Ed. Id say this. Our industry, Brian, is an incredibly fragmented industry. Theres
no question that this transaction gives will create a company that has more scale. Do I think at
the end of the day that that is going to fundamentally change the landscape? I dont. Were still a
fragmented industry. Even with this one, I think therell be opportunities that are going to exist
going forward.
And I think, as I said, youre right in your comments that I think we both have been very
open-minded about how we participate in that consolidation in a way thats going to create value
for our shareholders. I think the transaction we announced yesterday is a case in point of that.
But I wouldnt look at this and say, gee, theres not going to be anymore opportunities down the
road.
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
I think, Jeff, well make this the last call so that we can get onto some other things we need
to do, last comment, question.
Unidentified Audience Member
Question I guess just as standalone entities, do Mirant and RRI both plan on continuing to
give updated standalone guidance for 2010 and 2011? Youre both in the practice of giving that.
Will that continue before the deal closes?
Ed Muller Mirant Chairman & CEO
It will not. We will be providing projections in the proxy prospectus. And as its consistent
with transactions of this sort, well suspend guidance until we get this thing merged.
And with that, I thank you very much. Well be here for a couple minutes. Thank you for coming.
Thank you for your interest in Mirant, for your interest in RRI, and in the and for your
interest in GenOn. Thank you.
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
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Forward Looking Statements
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phrases such as will, anticipate, estimate, expect, project, intend, plan, believe,
target, forecast, and other words and terms of similar meaning. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. RRI Energy and Mirant caution readers that
any forward-looking statement is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results
could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. Such
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the
proposed merger involving RRI Energy and Mirant, including future financial and operating results,
RRI Energys and Mirants plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of
completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements are set forth in RRI Energys and Mirants filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: the ability to obtain
the requisite RRI Energy and Mirant shareholder approvals; the risk that Mirant or RRI Energy may
be unable to obtain governmental and regulatory approvals required for the merger, or required
governmental and regulatory approvals may delay the merger or result in the imposition of
conditions that could cause the parties to abandon the merger; the risk that a condition to closing
of the merger may not be satisfied; the timing to consummate the proposed merger; the risk that the
businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that the cost savings and any other
synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than
expected; disruption from the transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with
customers, employees or suppliers; the diversion of management time on merger-related issues;
general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; and the effect of changes in
governmental regulations; and other factors discussed or referred to in the Risk Factors section
of each of RRI Energys and Mirants most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of
the particular statement and neither RRI Energy nor Mirant undertake any obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Additional Information And Where To Find It
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any
securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval nor shall there be any sale of
securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to
registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. In connection
with the proposed merger between RRI Energy and Mirant, RRI Energy will file with the
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Apr 12, 2010 / 04:00PM GMT, **SARD RRI Energy and Mirant Announcement Luncheon Webcast
SEC a
Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of RRI Energy and
Mirant that also constitutes a prospectus of RRI Energy. RRI Energy and Mirant will distribute the
joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective shareholders. RRI Energy and Mirant urge
investors and shareholders to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed
merger when it becomes available, as well as other documents filed with the SEC, because they will
contain important information. You may obtain copies of all documents filed with the SEC regarding
this transaction, free of charge, at the SECs website (www.sec.gov). You may also obtain these
documents, free of charge, from RRI Energys website (www.rrienergy.com) under the tab Investor
Relations and then under the heading Company Filings. You may also obtain these documents, free
of charge, from Mirants website (www.mirant.com) under the tab Investor Relations and then under
the heading SEC Filings.
Participants In The Merger Solicitation
RRI Energy, Mirant, and their respective directors, executive officers and certain other members of
management and employees may be soliciting proxies from RRI Energy and Mirant shareholders in favor
of the merger and related matters. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of
the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of RRI Energy and Mirant shareholders in
connection with the proposed merger will be set forth in the joint proxy statement/prospectus when
it is filed with the SEC. You can find information about RRI Energys executive officers and
directors in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 1, 2010. You can find
information about Mirants executive officers and directors in its definitive proxy statement filed
with the SEC on March 26, 2010. Additional information about RRI Energys executive officers and
directors and Mirants executive officers and directors can be found in the above-referenced
Registration Statement on Form S-4 when it becomes available. You can obtain free copies of these
documents from RRI Energy and Mirant using the contact information above.
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