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Acquisitions
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
ACQUISITIONS
ACQUISITIONS
Southern Company
Merger with Southern Company Gas
Southern Company Gas is an energy services holding company whose primary business is the distribution of natural gas through the natural gas distribution utilities. On July 1, 2016, Southern Company completed the Merger for a total purchase price of approximately $8.0 billion and Southern Company Gas became a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Southern Company.
The Merger was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting with the assets acquired and liabilities assumed recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. The following table presents the purchase price allocation:
Southern Company Gas Purchase Price
 
 
(in millions)
Current assets
$
1,557

Property, plant, and equipment
10,108

Goodwill
5,967

Intangible assets
400

Regulatory assets
1,118

Other assets
229

Current liabilities
(2,201
)
Other liabilities
(4,742
)
Long-term debt
(4,261
)
Noncontrolling interest
(174
)
Total purchase price
$
8,001


The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed of $6.0 billion is recognized as goodwill, which is primarily attributable to positioning the Southern Company system to provide natural gas infrastructure to meet customers' growing energy needs and to compete for growth across the energy value chain. Southern Company anticipates that much of the value assigned to goodwill will not be deductible for tax purposes.
The valuation of identifiable intangible assets included customer relationships, trade names, and storage and transportation contracts with estimated lives of one to 28 years. The estimated fair value measurements of identifiable intangible assets were primarily based on significant unobservable inputs (Level 3).
The results of operations for Southern Company Gas have been included in Southern Company's consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition and consist of operating revenues of $1.6 billion and net income of $239 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.
The following summarized unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of earnings information assumes that the acquisition of Southern Company Gas was completed on January 1, 2015. The summarized unaudited pro forma consolidated statement of earnings information includes adjustments for (i) intercompany sales, (ii) amortization of intangible assets, (iii) adjustments to interest expense to reflect current interest rates on Southern Company Gas debt and additional interest expense associated with borrowings by Southern Company to fund the Merger, and (iv) the elimination of nonrecurring expenses associated with the Merger.
 
For the Three Months Ended March 31,
 
2016
Operating revenues (in millions)
$
5,320

Net income attributable to Southern Company (in millions)
$
650

Basic EPS
$
0.70

Diluted EPS
$
0.69


These unaudited pro forma results are for comparative purposes only and may not be indicative of the results that would have occurred had this acquisition been completed on January 1, 2015 or the results that would be attained in the future.
Acquisition of PowerSecure
On May 9, 2016, Southern Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of PowerSecure, a provider of products and services in the areas of distributed generation, energy efficiency, and utility infrastructure, for $18.75 per common share in cash, resulting in an aggregate purchase price of $429 million. As a result, PowerSecure became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern Company.
The acquisition of PowerSecure was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting with the assets acquired and liabilities assumed recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. The following table presents the purchase price allocation:
PowerSecure Purchase Price
 
 
(in millions)
Current assets
$
172

Property, plant, and equipment
46

Intangible assets
101

Goodwill
282

Other assets
4

Current liabilities
(114
)
Long-term debt, including current portion
(48
)
Deferred credits and other liabilities
(14
)
Total purchase price
$
429


The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed of $282 million was recognized as goodwill, which is primarily attributable to expected business expansion opportunities for PowerSecure. Southern Company anticipates that the majority of the value assigned to goodwill will not be deductible for tax purposes.
The valuation of identifiable intangible assets included customer relationships, trade names, patents, backlog, and software with estimated lives of one to 26 years. The estimated fair value measurements of identifiable intangible assets were primarily based on significant unobservable inputs (Level 3).
The results of operations for PowerSecure have been included in Southern Company's consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition and are immaterial to the consolidated financial results of Southern Company. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented for the acquisition because the effects of the acquisition were immaterial to Southern Company's consolidated financial results for all periods presented.
Southern Power
See Note 2 to the financial statements of Southern Power and Note 12 to the financial statements of Southern Company under "Southern Power" in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for additional information.
Acquisitions During the Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
During the three months ended March 31, 2017, in accordance with Southern Power's overall growth strategy, Southern Renewable Partnerships, LLC (SRP), one of Southern Power's wholly-owned subsidiaries, acquired the Bethel wind facility. Acquisition-related costs were expensed as incurred and were not material.
Project Facility
Resource
Seller; Acquisition Date
Approximate Nameplate Capacity (MW)
Location
Southern Power Percentage Ownership
Actual COD
PPA Contract Period
Bethel
Wind
Invenergy,
January 6, 2017
276
Castro County, TX
100
%
 
January 2017
12 years

The aggregate amount of revenue recognized by Southern Power related to the Bethel facility included in Southern Power's condensed consolidated statements of income during the first quarter 2017 is $4 million. The aggregate amount of net income, excluding impacts from PTCs, recognized by Southern Power during the three months ended March 31, 2017 included in Southern Power's condensed consolidated statements of income was immaterial. The Bethel facility did not have operating revenues or activities prior to completion of construction and the assets being placed in service; therefore, supplemental pro forma information for the comparable 2016 period is not meaningful and has been omitted.
In connection with 2016 acquisitions, subsequent to March 31, 2017, allocations of the purchase price to individual assets were finalized with no changes to amounts originally reported for Boulder 1, Grant Plains, Grant Wind, Passadumkeag, and Wake Wind.
Construction Projects Completed and in Progress
During the three months ended March 31, 2017, in accordance with its overall growth strategy, Southern Power completed construction of and placed in service, or continued construction of, the projects set forth in the following table. Through March 31, 2017, total costs of construction incurred for these three projects were $401 million, of which $203 million remained in CWIP for the Lamesa and Mankato facilities acquired in 2016. Total aggregate construction costs, excluding the acquisition costs, are expected to be $530 million to $590 million for these two facilities that were under construction at March 31, 2017. The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined at this time.
Project Facility
Resource
Approximate Nameplate Capacity (MW)
Location
Actual/Expected COD
PPA Contract Period
Project Completed During the Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
East Pecos
Solar
120
Pecos County, TX
March 2017
15 years
 
 
 
 
 
 
Projects Under Construction as of March 31, 2017
Lamesa
Solar
102
Dawson County, TX
April 2017
15 years
Mankato
Natural Gas
345
Mankato, MN
Second quarter 2019
20 years

Development Projects
In December 2016, as part of Southern Power's renewable development strategy, SRP entered into a joint development agreement with Renewable Energy Systems Americas, Inc. to develop and construct approximately 3,000 MWs of wind projects. Also in December 2016, Southern Power signed agreements and made payments to purchase wind turbine equipment from Siemens Wind Power, Inc. and Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. to be used for construction of the facilities. All of the wind turbine equipment was delivered by April 2017, which allows the projects to qualify for 100% PTCs for 10 years following their expected commercial operation dates between 2018 and 2020. The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined at this time.