Lawsuit claims Westar Energy undervalued itself in sale

Westar Energy logo

A class-action lawsuit has been filed claiming that Westar Energy executives undervalued the company when selling it to Great Plains Energy.

The Topeka-Capital Journal reports that Westar’s board of directors agreed to sell the company for about $12.2 billion on May 29. According to the agreement, stockholders will receive $51 in cash and $9 in Great Plains stock.

Westar stockholder Troy Miller says that is unacceptable and filed the suit against the two companies and eight executives Wednesday.

Miller says Westar’s stock price increased 55 percent in the year before its sale, but the $60 stock price Great Plains paid is only a 13 percent increase in Westar’s stock price. He says Great Plains will get an increasingly valuable company, but will pay much less than what it is worth.

“The proposed transaction is the product of a flawed process and deprives Westar’s public stockholders of fair consideration for their shares,” Thomas Hammond II, Miller’s attorney, wrote in the lawsuit.

Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig says the company cannot comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit asks Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks to block the sale of Westar to Great Plains or, if it has already been completed, to rescind it.

No hearings have been scheduled.