North Carolina Agencies Investigating Duke Energy Corp CEO Shuffle-Reuters

Reuters reported that North Carolina officials late on July 6, 2012, launched two investigations into the surprising move by Duke Energy Corp directors to replace former Progress Energy Chief Executive Bill Johnson with Duke CEO Jim Rogers, just a day after a deal to create the largest U.S. utility company was finalized. The North Carolina Utilities Commission, which approved Duke's $18 billion buyout of Progress late last week, ordered Rogers to appear at a hearing on July 10, 2012, to answer questions on the timing of the decision to replace Johnson, the commission said in a two-page order. Separately, Roy Cooper, attorney general in North Carolina where both companies are based, opened an investigation and ordered Duke officials to produce merger-related documents from board members and senior managers of both companies from as far back as January 2011. The attorney general requested "all documents or communications that discuss the prospective chief executive officer of the merged entity" and "any discussion of any effort or plan for James E. Rogers to be the chief executive officer of such merged entity." The agency also seeks documents that "identify or assess risks and/or impacts," such as financial, investor or regulatory associated with a change of management after the merger.