;)
The Wall Street Journal reports on the fallout of the Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger. In the deal, the two companies’ boards and their senior managers agreed that Duke CEO Jim Rogers would relinquish his chief executive title and take the more passive role of executive chairman. Meanwhile, Progress CEO Bill Johnson would serve as CEO of the combined company. That part of the deal, however, lasted only a few hours until Johnson resigned “by mutual agreement” with the combined company’s board. According to the Journal, “the story of Duke and Progress will hang heavily over the negotiations of future merger parties and their senior managers. . . . The Duke/Progress deal proves there can be no certainty, and that will likely discourage some merger-of-equals deals.”
Duke boardroom coup to chill mergers-of-equals negotiations
The Wall Street Journal predicts that the unplanned ouster of Duke Energy CEO Bill Johnson may discourage merger-of-equals deals.
July 11, 2012