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Hawaiian Electric slumps after disclosing $500M stock offer

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. disclosed today plans to sell up to $500 million worth of its common stock to help fund its part of the Maui wildfire settlement, sending its shares down over 9% in extended trading.

The parent company of utility Hawaiian Electric said it had also granted underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $75 million worth of its shares as part of the offering.

Earlier this year, the Honolulu-based company raised going-concern doubts, after disclosing that it lacked a financing plan for its share of a more than $4 billion settlement to compensate victims of the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, which killed 102 people and displaced thousands of Maui residents.

Lawsuits allege that the utility failed to shut off power lines despite “red flag warnings” that high winds and dry conditions could lead to wildfires.

Wells Fargo, Guggenheim Securities and Barclays Capital will act as joint book-runners for the sale, which comes just a week after the company had disclosed a separate plan to sell up to $250 million of its common stock.

Hawaiian Electric had about 110.3 million common shares outstanding as of Aug. 30, according to a regulatory filing. Shares of Hawaii’s largest utility company have fallen about 23% this year.

The company’s stock ended trading on Wall Street today at $10.90 a share, but fell $1.05 to $9.85 in after-hours trading.

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