Item 1.01. | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
Forward Sale Agreement
On September 11, 2023, ONE Gas, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a forward sale agreement (the “Forward Sale Agreement”) with Bank of America, N.A. (the “Forward Purchaser”), relating to 1,200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “common stock”).
The Forward Sale Agreement provides for settlement on a settlement date or dates to be specified at the Company’s discretion, but which the Company expects to occur no later than December 31, 2024. On a settlement date or dates, if the Company decides to physically settle the Forward Sale Agreement, the Company will issue shares of common stock to the Forward Purchaser at the then-applicable forward sale price. The forward sale price will initially be $73.67 per share. The Forward Sale Agreement provides that the initial forward sale price will be subject to adjustment on a daily basis based on a floating interest rate factor equal to the overnight bank funding rate less a spread and will be decreased on each of certain dates specified in the Forward Sale Agreement during its term. If the overnight bank funding rate is less than the spread on any day, the interest rate factor will result in a daily reduction of the forward sale price.
In certain circumstances, the Forward Purchaser will have the right to accelerate the Forward Sale Agreement and require the Company to physically settle the Forward Sale Agreement on a date specified by the Forward Purchaser. These circumstances include:
| • | | the Forward Purchaser determines, in its good faith and commercially reasonable judgment, that BofA Securities, Inc., acting in its capacity as forward seller (the “Forward Seller”), is unable to continue to borrow a number of shares of the common stock equal to the number of shares of the common stock underlying the Forward Sale Agreement or that, with respect to borrowing such number of shares of the common stock, the Forward Purchaser (or its affiliate) would incur a cost that is greater than the maximum stock loan rate specified in the Forward Sale Agreement; |
| • | | certain ownership thresholds applicable to the Forward Purchaser, its affiliates and all other persons who may form a beneficial share ownership group or whose ownership positions would be aggregated with the Forward Purchaser are exceeded; |
| • | | the Company declares any dividend or distribution on the common stock payable in (i) cash in excess of a specified amount (other than extraordinary dividends), (ii) securities of another company or (iii) any other type of securities (other than the common stock), rights, warrants or other assets for payment at less than the prevailing market price, as determined by the Forward Purchaser; |
| • | | the announcement of any event or transaction that, if consummated, would result in certain extraordinary events (as such term is defined in the Forward Sale Agreement and which includes certain mergers and tender offers and the delisting of the common stock); or |
| • | | certain other events of default, termination events or other specified events occur, including, among other things, any material misrepresentation made by the Company in connection with entering into the Forward Sale Agreement or a change in law (as such terms are defined in the Forward Sale Agreement). |
The foregoing description of the Forward Sale Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Forward Sale Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto.
Underwriting Agreement
On September 11, 2023, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with BofA Securities, Inc., as underwriter (the “Underwriter”), the Forward Seller and the Forward Purchaser, relating to the registered public offering and sale by the Forward Seller of 1,200,000 shares of the Company’s
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