$125,000,000 Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 GULF POWER COMPANY UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

$125,000,000

Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes

due June 1, 2051

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

May 12, 2011

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

 

UBS Securities LLC

677 Washington Boulevard

Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

301 South College Street

Charlotte, North Carolina 28288

as Representatives of the Several Underwriters named on Schedule I hereto

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Gulf Power Company, a Florida corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (the “Agreement”) with you and the other Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 11 hereof), for whom you are acting as representatives (in such capacity you shall hereinafter be referred to as the “Representatives”), with respect to the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 (the “Senior Notes”) as set forth in Schedule I hereto.

 

The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Senior Notes as soon as the Representatives deem advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.  The Senior Notes will be issued pursuant to

 

 

 

 

SECTION 1.  REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.  The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriters as follows:

 

(a)  A registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-172698) in respect of the Senior Notes and certain other securities has been prepared and filed in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); such registration statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered or to be delivered to the Underwriters, has been declared effective by the Commission in such form (except that copies of the registration statement and any post-effective amendment delivered to the Underwriters need not include exhibits but shall include all documents incorporated by reference therein); and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the 1933 Act against the Company or related to the offering has been initiated or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus, as supplemented by a preliminary prospectus supplement, included in such registration statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act, being hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”); such registration statement, as used with respect to the Senior Notes, including the information deemed a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(1) under the 1933 Act on the date of such registration statement’s effectiveness for purposes of Section 11 of the 1933 Act, as such Section applies to the Company and the Underwriters for the Senior Notes pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the 1933 Act (the “Effective Date”), including the exhibits thereto and all documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 at the Effective Date, being hereinafter called the “Registration Statement”; the base prospectus relating to the Senior Notes and certain other securities of the Company, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement relating to the Senior Notes, being hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; the Basic Prospectus as amended and supplemented by a preliminary prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 relating to the Senior Notes which has been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the 1933 Act, as it may be further amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as hereinafter defined), is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; the Basic Prospectus as amended or supplemented in final form, including by a prospectus

 

 

 

For purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is 4:00 P.M. (New York time) on the date of this Agreement; the documents listed in Schedule II, taken together and attached hereto, are collectively referred to as the “Pricing Disclosure Package.”

 

(b)  The documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Pricing Prospectus, when they were filed with the Commission, complied in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and as of such time of filing, when read together with the Pricing Prospectus and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined in Section 3(a) hereof), none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Final Supplemented Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents are filed with the Commission, will comply in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and, when read together with the Final Supplemented Prospectus as it otherwise may be amended or supplemented, will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the Company makes no warranty or representation to the Underwriters with respect to: (A) any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by any Underwriter through the

 

 

 

(c)  The Registration Statement and the Final Supplemented Prospectus comply, and any further amendments or supplements thereto, when any such amendments become effective or supplements are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will comply, in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, the 1939 Act (as hereinafter defined) and the General Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder and the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus do not and will not, (i) as of the Effective Date as to the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, (ii) as of the Applicable Time as to the Pricing Disclosure Package and (iii) as of the date of the Final Supplemented Prospectus as to the Final Supplemented Prospectus or as of the date when any supplement is filed as to the Final Supplemented Prospectus as further supplemented or as of the Closing Date as to the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus as it may be further supplemented as provided above, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the case of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, and, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading in the case of the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus as further supplemented; except that the Company makes no warranties or representations with respect to (A) that part of the Registration Statement which shall constitute the Statements of Eligibility (Form T-1) under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “1939 Act”), (B) any statements or omissions made in a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or (C) any information set forth in the Pricing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus under the caption “Description of the Series 2011A Senior Notes ─ Book-Entry Only Issuance ─ The Depository Trust Company.”

 

(d)  Each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule II hereto does not include anything that conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus and each such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the Company makes no warranty or representation to the Underwriters with respect to any statement or omissions made in a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus in

 

 

 

 

(e)  With respect to the Registration Statement, the conditions for use of Form S-3, as set forth in the General Instructions thereof, have been satisfied.

 

(f)  At the determination date for purposes of the Senior Notes within the meaning of Rule 164(h) under the 1933 Act, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act.

 

(g)  Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein, there has been no material adverse change in the business, properties or financial condition of the Company, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business.

 

(h)  The Company is a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Florida, is duly qualified to carry on its business as a foreign corporation under the laws of the States of Georgia and Mississippi, and has due corporate authority to carry on the public utility business in which it is engaged and to own and operate the properties used by it in such business, to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Indenture and to issue and sell the Senior Notes to the Underwriters.

 

(i)  This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

 

(j)  The Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and, on the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined), will have been duly executed and delivered by the Company, and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture by the Trustee, the Indenture will, on the Closing Date, constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforcement thereof may be limited by (1) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, liquidation, fraudulent conveyance, moratorium or other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally or (2) general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity) (the “Enforceability Exceptions”); the Indenture will conform in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus; and, on the Closing Date, the Indenture will have been duly qualified under the 1939 Act.

 

(k)  The issuance and delivery of the Senior Notes have been duly authorized by the Company and, on the Closing Date, the Senior Notes will have been duly executed by the Company and, when authenticated in the manner provided for in the Indenture and delivered against payment therefor as described in this

 

 

 

 

(l)  The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the Indenture and the Senior Notes and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder shall have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company and do not and will not result in any violation of the charter or bylaws of the Company, and do not and will not conflict with, or result in a breach of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company under (A) any contract, indenture, mortgage, loan agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it may be bound or to which any of its properties may be subject (except for conflicts, breaches or defaults which would not, individually or in the aggregate, be materially adverse to the Company or materially adverse to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement), or (B) any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any government, governmental instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, or any regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company, or any of its properties.

 

(m)  No authorization, approval, consent or order of any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary in connection with the issuance and sale by the Company of the Senior Notes or the transactions by the Company contemplated in this Agreement, except (A) such as may be required under the 1933 Act or the rules and regulations thereunder; (B) such as may be required under the Federal Power Act; (C) the qualification of the Indenture under the 1939 Act; (D) the approval of the Florida Public Service Commission (the “Florida Commission”); and (E) such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or “blue sky” laws.

 

(n)  The financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company as of and for the dates indicated; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis (except that the unaudited financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus may be subject to normal year-end adjustments) throughout the periods involved and necessarily

 

 

 

SECTION 2.  SALE AND DELIVERY TO THE UNDERWRITERS; CLOSING.

 

(a)  On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, the principal amount of the Senior Notes set forth in Schedule I to this Agreement opposite the name of such Underwriter (plus any additional amount of the Senior Notes that such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 11 hereof), at a price equal to 96.85% of the principal amount thereof.

 

(b)  Payment of the purchase price and delivery of certificates for the Senior Notes shall be made at the offices of Southern Company Services, Inc., 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30308 at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on May 18, 2011 (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereof) or such other time, place or date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called the “Closing Date”).  Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer in federal funds at the Closing Date against delivery of the Senior Notes to Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated (“Morgan Stanley”) on behalf of all of the Underwriters.  It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized Morgan Stanley, for each Underwriter’s account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of, the principal amount of the Senior Notes which each Underwriter has agreed to purchase.  Morgan Stanley, individually and not as a representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the principal amount of the Senior Notes to be purchased by any Underwriter whose payment has not been received by the Closing Date, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

 

The delivery of the Senior Notes shall be made in fully registered form, registered in the name of CEDE & CO., to the offices of The Depository Trust Company in New York, New York or its designee, and the Underwriters shall accept such delivery.

 

The certificate(s) for the Senior Notes will be made available for examination by the Representatives not later than 12:00 Noon, New York time, on the last business day prior to the Closing Date.

 

 

 

SECTION 3.

FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES.

 

(a)  The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Senior Notes that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act, other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus; each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Senior Notes that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act, other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or a free writing prospectus that is not required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433 under the 1933 Act or one or more free writing prospectuses through customary Bloomberg distribution that do not contain substantive changes from or additions to the information contained in the free writing prospectus, dated the date hereof, filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act relating to the Senior Notes (the “Pricing Term Sheet”); any such free writing prospectus (which shall include the Pricing Term Sheet), the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives, is listed on Schedule II and herein called a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”

 

(b)  The Company agrees to prepare the Pricing Term Sheet, which shall be previously approved by the Representatives, and to file the Pricing Term Sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act within the time period prescribed by such Rule.

 

(c)  The Company and the Underwriters have complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the 1933 Act applicable to any free writing prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required and legending.

 

(d)  The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus or include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter a free writing prospectus or other document, the use of which has been consented to by the Representatives, which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by any Underwriter, through the Representatives expressly for use therein.

 

(e)  The Company agrees that if there occurs an event or development as a result of which the Pricing Disclosure Package would include an untrue statement of a

 

 

 

 

SECTION 4.  COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY.  The Company covenants with the Underwriters as follows:

 

(a)  The Company, on or prior to the Closing Date, will deliver to the Underwriters conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and of all amendments thereto, heretofore or hereafter made, including any post-effective amendment (in each case including all exhibits filed therewith, and including unsigned copies of each consent and certificate included therein or filed as an exhibit thereto, except exhibits incorporated by reference, unless specifically requested).  As soon as the Company is advised thereof, it will advise the Representatives orally of the issuance of any stop order under the 1933 Act with respect to the Registration Statement, or the institution of any proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the 1933 Act against the Company or related to the offering, of which the Company shall have received notice, and will use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order and to secure the prompt removal thereof, if issued.  The Company will deliver to the Representatives sufficient conformed copies of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus and of all supplements and amendments thereto (in each case without exhibits) for distribution to the Underwriters and, from time to time, as many copies of the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus as the Underwriters may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act.

 

(b)  The Company will furnish the Underwriters with written or electronic copies of each amendment and supplement to the Final Supplemented Prospectus relating to the offering of the Senior Notes in such quantities as the Underwriters may from time to time reasonably request.  If, during the period (not exceeding nine months) when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the 1933 Act) shall be required by law in connection with the sale of any Senior Notes by an Underwriter, any event relating to or affecting the Company, or of which the Company shall be advised in writing by the Representatives, shall occur, which in the opinion of the Company or of Underwriters’ counsel should be set forth in a supplement to or an amendment of the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as the case may be, in order to make the Final Supplemented Prospectus not misleading in the light of the circumstances when it (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the 1933 Act) is delivered, or if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such period to amend or supplement the Final Supplemented Prospectus or to file under the 1934 Act any document incorporated by reference in the Final Supplemented Prospectus in order to comply with the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, the Company forthwith will (i) notify the Underwriters to suspend solicitation of

 

 

 

(c)  The Company will endeavor, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Senior Notes for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and the other jurisdictions of the United States as the Representatives may designate; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to file a consent to service of process or to file annual reports or to comply with any other requirements in connection with such qualification deemed by the Company to be unduly burdensome.

 

(d)  The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable but not later than 45 days after the close of the period covered thereby, an earnings statement of the Company (in form complying with the provisions of Rule 158 of the rules and regulations under the 1933 Act) covering a twelve-month period beginning not later than the first day of the Company’s fiscal quarter next following the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement.

 

(e)  As soon as practicable after the date of this Agreement, and in any event within the time prescribed by Rule 424 under the 1933 Act, the Company will file the Final Supplemented Prospectus, in a form approved by the Representatives, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, with the Commission and will advise the Representatives of such filing and will confirm such advice in writing.  Furthermore, the Company will make any other required filings pursuant to Rule 433(d)(1) under the 1933 Act within the time required by such Rule.

 

 

 

 

(f)  During a period of 15 days from the date of this Agreement, the Company will not, without the Representatives’ prior written consent, directly or indirectly, sell, offer to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of, any Senior Notes or any security convertible into or exchangeable into or exercisable for the Senior Notes or any debt securities substantially similar to the Senior Notes (except for the Senior Notes issued pursuant to this Agreement).  The Representatives agree that commercial paper or other debt securities with scheduled maturities of less than one year are not subject to this Section 4(f).

 

(g)  The Company will use its best efforts to effect the listing of the Senior Notes on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

SECTION 5.  PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.  The Company will pay all expenses incidental to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including but not limited to, the expenses of (i) the printing and filing of the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificate(s) for the Senior Notes, (iii) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel and accountants, (iv) the qualification of the Senior Notes under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 4(c) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, in connection therewith and in connection with the preparation of any blue sky survey (such fees and disbursements of counsel shall not exceed $3,500), (v) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto and of the Pricing Prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of any blue sky survey, (vii) the fee of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. in connection with its review of the offering contemplated by this Agreement, if applicable, (viii) the fees and expenses of the Trustee, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Trustee in connection with the Indenture and the Senior Notes, (ix) any fees payable in connection with the rating of the Senior Notes, (x) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar, (xi) fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Senior Notes on the New York Stock Exchange and (xii) the cost of qualifying the Senior Notes with The Depository Trust Company.

 

Except as otherwise provided in Section 10 hereof, the Underwriters shall pay all other expenses incurred by them in connection with their offering of the Senior Notes, including fees and disbursements of their counsel, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

 

SECTION 6.  CONDITIONS OF UNDERWRITERS’ OBLIGATIONS.  The obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Senior Notes are subject to the following conditions:

 

(a)  No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect on the Closing Date and no proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the 1933 Act against the Company or related to the offering shall be pending before, or to the knowledge of the Company threatened

 

 

 

(b)  Any required orders of the Florida Commission permitting the transactions contemplated hereby substantially in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof shall be in full force and effect and shall contain no provision unacceptable to the Underwriters or the Company (but all provisions of such order or orders heretofore entered, copies of which have heretofore been delivered to the Representatives, are deemed acceptable to the Underwriters and the Company and all provisions of such order or orders hereafter entered shall be deemed acceptable to the Underwriters and the Company unless within 24 hours after receiving a copy of any such order any party to this Agreement shall give notice to the other parties to the effect that such order contains an unacceptable provision).

 

(c)  On the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received:

 

(1)  The opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Beggs & Lane, a Registered Limited Liability Partnership, general counsel for the Company, substantially in the form attached hereto as Schedule III-A.

 

(2)  The opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Troutman Sanders LLP, counsel for the Company, substantially in the form attached hereto as Schedule III-B.

 

(3)  The opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Emmet, Marvin & Martin, LLP, counsel to the Trustee, substantially in the form attached hereto as Schedule IV.

 

(4)  The opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, substantially in the form attached hereto as Schedule V.

 

(d)  At the Closing Date, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, any material adverse change in the business, properties or financial condition of the Company, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the President or any Vice President of the Company, and dated as of the Closing Date, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the representations and warranties in Section 1 hereof are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Date, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied on or prior to the Closing

 

 

 

 

(e)  The Representatives shall have received on the date hereof and shall receive on the Closing Date from Deloitte & Touche LLP, a letter or letters addressed to the Representatives (which may refer to letters previously delivered to the Representatives) dated the respective dates of delivery thereof to the effect that:  (A) they are an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the 1933 Act and the rules and regulations under the 1933 Act; (B) in their opinion, the financial statements audited by them and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus or the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as applicable, comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations under the 1934 Act; and (C) on the basis of certain limited procedures performed through a specified date not more than three business days prior to the date of such letter, namely (i) reading the minute books of the Company; (ii) performing the procedures specified by the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) for a review of interim financial statement information as described in PCAOB AU 722, “Interim Financial Information,” on the unaudited financial statements, if any, of the Company incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus or the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as applicable, and on the latest available unaudited financial statements of the Company, if any, for any calendar quarter subsequent to the date of those incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus or the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as applicable; and (iii) making inquiries of certain officials of the Company who have responsibility for financial and accounting matters regarding such unaudited financial statements or any specified unaudited amounts derived therefrom (it being understood that the foregoing procedures do not constitute an audit performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and they would not necessarily reveal matters of significance with respect to the comments made in such letter, and accordingly that Deloitte & Touche LLP make no representations as to the sufficiency of such procedures for the Underwriters’ purposes), nothing came to their attention that caused them to believe that:  (1) any material modifications should be made to the unaudited condensed financial statements, if any, incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Pricing Prospectus or the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as applicable, for them to be in conformity with GAAP; (2) such unaudited condensed financial statements, if any, do not comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the 1934 Act as it applies to Form 10-Q and the related published rules and regulations thereunder; (3) the unaudited

 

 

 

 

(f)  On the Closing Date, counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as it may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling it to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes as herein contemplated and related proceedings, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Senior Notes as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, counsel for the Underwriters.

 

(g)  On the Closing Date, the Senior Notes shall be approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange upon notice of issuance.

 

 

 

 

(h)  No amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Final Supplemented Prospectus filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement (including any filing made by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or 14 of the 1934 Act) shall be unsatisfactory in form to Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP or shall contain information (other than with respect to an amendment or supplement relating solely to the activity of the Underwriters) which, in the reasonable judgment of the Representatives, shall materially impair the marketability of the Senior Notes.

 

(i)  The Company shall have performed its obligations when and as provided under this Agreement.

 

If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company at any time prior to the Closing Date, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Sections 5, 8 and 10(b) hereof.

 

SECTION 7.  CONDITIONS OF THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE COMPANY.  The obligations of the Company shall be subject to the conditions set forth in the first sentence of Section 6(a) and in Section 6(b) hereof.  In case such conditions shall not have been fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Company by mailing or delivering written notice thereof to the Representatives.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as otherwise provided in Sections 5, 8 and 10(b) hereof.

 

SECTION 8.  INDEMNIFICATION.

 

(a)  The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each of the Underwriters and each person, if any, who controls any such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20(a) of the 1934 Act, against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or otherwise, and to reimburse any such Underwriter and such controlling person or persons, if any, for any legal or other expenses incurred by them in connection with defending any actions, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or actions arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus or, if the Company shall furnish to the Underwriters any amendments or any supplements thereto, or shall make any filings pursuant to Section 13 or 14 of the 1934 Act which are incorporated therein by reference, in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, the Final Supplemented Prospectus as so amended or supplemented, or in any free writing prospectus used by the Company other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements

 

 

 

(b)  Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors and such of its officers who have signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20(a) of the 1934 Act to the same extent and upon the same terms as the indemnity agreement of the Company set forth in Section 8(a) hereof, but only with respect to alleged untrue statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Basic Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus, or such documents as amended or supplemented, in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives for use therein.

 

 

 

 

SECTION 9.  REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND AGREE­MENTS TO SURVIVE DELIVERY.  All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement, or contained in certificates of officers of the Company submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or controlling person, or by, or on behalf of the Company and shall survive delivery of the Senior Notes to the Underwriters.

 

SECTION 10.  TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT.

 

(a)           The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to the Closing Date if (i) trading in securities on the New York Stock Exchange shall have been generally suspended or there shall have been a material disruption in settlement in securities generally, (ii) minimum or maximum ranges for prices shall have been generally established on the New York Stock Exchange by the Commission or by the New York Stock Exchange, (iii) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by federal or New York State authorities, or (iv) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of major hostilities in which the United States is involved, any declaration of war by the United States Congress or any other substantial national or international calamity, crisis or emergency (including, without limitation, acts of terrorism) affecting the United States, in any such case provided for in clauses (i) through (iv) with the result that, in the reasonable judgment of the Representatives, the offering, sale or delivery of the Senior Notes on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and the Final Supplemented Prospectus shall have been materially impaired.

 

(b)           If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Representatives pursuant to subsection (a) above or because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any reason the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement, then in any such case, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for the reasonable fees and disbursements of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP and for the out of pocket expenses (in an amount not exceeding $10,000) reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale and delivery of the Senior Notes and, upon such reimbursement, the Company shall be absolved from any further liability hereunder, except as provided in Sections 5 and 8 hereof.

 

SECTION 11.  DEFAULT BY AN UNDERWRITER

 

If an Underwriter shall fail on the Closing Date to purchase the Senior Notes that it is obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representatives shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth.  If, however, the Representatives shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:

 

 

 

 

(a)  if the principal amount of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the Senior Notes, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or

 

(b)  if the principal amount of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the Senior Notes, this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.

 

No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

 

In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement, either the Representatives or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Final Supplemented Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements.

 

SECTION 12.  NOTICES.  All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication.  Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to the Representatives at Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, Attention: General Counsel, Fax: 212 ###-###-####, Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, 1585 Broadway, 29th Floor, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Investment Banking Division, Fax: 212 ###-###-####, UBS Securities LLC, 677 Washington Boulevard, Stamford, Connecticut 06901, Attention: Fixed Income Syndicate, Fax: 203 ###-###-####, and Wells Fargo Securities, 301 South College Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28288, Attention: Transaction Management, Fax: 704 ###-###-####; notices to the Company shall be mailed to One Energy Place, Pensacola, Florida ###-###-####, Attention: Corporate Secretary, with a copy to Southern Company Services, Inc., 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30308, Attention: Earl C. Long.

 

SECTION 13.  PARTIES.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors.  Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Section 8 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained.  This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation.  No purchaser of Senior Notes from any of the Underwriters shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.  The Company acknowledges and agrees

 

 

 

 

SECTION 14.  GOVERNING LAW AND TIME.  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in said State.  Except as otherwise set forth herein, specified times of day refer to New York time.

 

SECTION 15.  COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

 

 

 

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,

GULF POWER COMPANY

By: /s/ Richard S. Teel________________

Name:  Richard S. Teel

   Title:  Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,

as of the date first above written

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.

By: /s/ Brian D. Bednarski                                  

      Name:  Brian D. Bednarski

      Title:  Managing Director

MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED

By: /s/ Yurij Slyz                                                 

      Name:  Yurij Slyz

      Title:  Executive Director

UBS SECURITIES LLC

 
 

By: /s/ Christian Stewart                                     

      Name:  Christian Stewart

      Title:  Managing Director

By: /s/ Mark Spadaccini                                      

      Name:  Mark Spadaccini

      Title:  Associate Director

WELLS FARGO SECURITIES, LLC

By: /s/ Carolyn Hurley___________________

      Name:  Carolyn Hurley

      Title:  Director

as Representatives of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto

Name of Underwriter		Principal Amount of Series 2011A Senior Notes
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.		$25,312,500
Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated		$25,312,500
UBS Securities LLC		$25,312,500
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC		$25,312,500
BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, LLC		$2,500,000
Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.		$2,500,000
Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC		$1,250,000
HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.		$1,250,000
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC		$1,250,000
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.		$1,250,000
Pershing LLC		$1,250,000
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.		$1,250,000
RBC Dain Rauscher Inc.		$1,250,000
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated		$1,250,000
Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc.		$1,250,000
Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.		$1,250,000
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated		$1,250,000
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.		$1,250,000
Synovus Securities, Inc.		$1,250,000
William Blair & Company, L.L.C.		$1,250,000
The Williams Capital Group, L.P.		$1,250,000
Aggregate Principal Amount		$125,000,000

1)    Prospectus dated March 21, 2011

2)    Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated May 12, 2011 (which shall be deemed to include documents incorporated by reference therein)

3)    Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses

a)    the Pricing Term Sheet

[Letterhead of BEGGS & LANE]

May 18, 2011

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

 

UBS Securities LLC

677 Washington Boulevard

Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

301 South College Street

Charlotte, North Carolina 28288

as Representatives of the Several Underwriters

GULF POWER COMPANY

Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as general counsel to Gulf Power Company (the “Company”) in connection with (i) the Company’s issuance of $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 (the “Notes”) pursuant to a Senior Note Indenture dated as of January 1, 1998, by and between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (formerly known as The Chase Manhattan Bank)), as trustee (the “Trustee”), as heretofore supplemented and as further supplemented by the Eighteenth Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 18, 2011 (collectively, the “Indenture”); and (ii) the purchase by the Underwriters (as defined herein) of the Notes pursuant to the terms of an Underwriting Agreement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), among the Company and the Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto (the “Underwriters”) for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”).  This opinion is being delivered to you as Representatives pursuant to Section 6(c)(1) of the Underwriting Agreement.

 

All capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

 

 

 

In rendering the opinions expressed below, we have examined the registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-172698) pertaining to the Notes and certain other securities filed by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), as it became effective under the Act (the “Registration Statement”); the Company’s prospectus dated March 21, 2011 (the “Basic Prospectus”), as supplemented by a preliminary prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Pricing Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and the Current Reports on Form 8-K of the Company dated January 20, 2011 and May 9, 2011 (the “Pricing Exchange Act Documents”), and as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (together with the Basic Prospectus, the “Final Supplemented Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Pricing Exchange Act Documents and the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company dated May 12, 2011 (the “Exchange Act Documents”), each as filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); and the Indenture.  We have also examined the free writing prospectus prepared by the Company and filed with the Commission on May 12, 2011 pursuant to Rule 433 of the Act (the “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”).  The documents listed in Schedule II to the Underwriting Agreement, taken together, are collectively referred to as the “Pricing Disclosure Package.”

 

In addition, we have examined, and have relied as to matters of fact upon, the documents delivered to you at the closing (except the certificate representing the Notes, of which we have examined a specimen), and we have made such other and further investigations as we deemed necessary to express the opinions hereinafter set forth.  In such examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.

 

The Indenture and the Underwriting Agreement are herein referred to collectively as the “Agreements.”

 

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion, relying as to matters of Georgia law and the federal law of the United States upon the opinion dated the date hereof rendered to you by Troutman Sanders LLP and relying as to matters of New York law upon the opinion dated the date hereof rendered to you by Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, that:

 

1.           The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Florida, is duly qualified to carry on its business as a foreign corporation under the laws of the States of Georgia and Mississippi and has due corporate authority to carry on the public utility business in

 

 

 

 

2.           The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action, and the Underwriting Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company.

 

3.           All orders, consents or other authorizations or approvals of the Florida Public Service Commission and the Commission legally required for the issuance and sale of the Notes have been obtained; such orders are sufficient for the issuance and the sale of the Notes; the issuance and the sale of the Notes conform in all material respects with the terms of such orders; and no other order, consent or other authorization or approval of any Florida or United States governmental body (other than in connection or in compliance with the provisions of the securities or “blue sky” laws of any jurisdiction, as to which we express no opinion) is legally required for the issuance and sale of the Notes in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement.

 

4.           The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and legally binding instrument of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Indenture may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Indenture conforms as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

5.           The Notes have been duly authorized and executed by the Company and, when authenticated by the Trustee in the manner provided in the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Notes may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Notes conform as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

6.           The Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

 

We have not independently verified the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements made or included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents and take no responsibility therefor, except as and to the extent set forth in paragraphs 4 and 5

 

 

 

We are members of the Florida Bar and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the law of the States of Florida and Mississippi and, to the extent set forth herein, the laws of the States of Georgia and New York and the federal law of the United States.

 

 

4

 

 

This opinion letter is rendered by us only to you and is solely for your benefit in your capacity as Underwriters in connection with the above-described transaction.  This opinion letter is limited to the date hereof.  This opinion letter may not be used, quoted or relied upon by you for any other purpose, or relied upon by or furnished to any other person without our prior written consent, except that Troutman Sanders LLP and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP may rely on this opinion in giving their opinions pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Underwriting Agreement insofar as such opinions relate to matters of Florida and Mississippi law.

 

 

Yours very truly,

 

 

BEGGS & LANE

 

 

 

 

 

[Letterhead of TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP]

May 18, 2011

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

 

UBS Securities LLC

677 Washington Boulevard

Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

301 South College Street

Charlotte, North Carolina 28288

as Representatives of the Several Underwriters

 

GULF POWER COMPANY

Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as counsel to Gulf Power Company (the “Company”) in connection with (i) the Company’s issuance of $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 (the “Notes”) pursuant to a Senior Note Indenture dated as of January 1, 1998, by and between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (formerly known as The Chase Manhattan Bank)), as trustee (the “Trustee”), as heretofore supplemented and as further supplemented by the Eighteenth Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 18, 2011 (collectively, the “Indenture”); and (ii) the purchase by the Underwriters (as defined herein) of the Notes pursuant to the terms of an Underwriting Agreement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), among the Company and the Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto (the “Underwriters”) for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”).  This opinion is being delivered to you as Representatives pursuant to Section 6(c)(2) of the Underwriting Agreement.

 

All capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

 

 

 

 

In rendering the opinions expressed below, we have examined the registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-172698) pertaining to the Notes and certain other securities filed by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), as it became effective under the Act (the “Registration Statement”); the Company’s prospectus dated March 21, 2011 (the “Basic Prospectus”), as supplemented by a preliminary prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Pricing Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and the Current Reports on Form 8-K of the Company dated January 20, 2011 and May 9, 2011 (the “Pricing Exchange Act Documents”), and a prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (together with the Basic Prospectus, the “Final Supplemented Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Pricing Exchange Act Documents and the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company dated May 12, 2011 (the “Exchange Act Documents”), each as filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); and the Indenture.  We have also examined the free writing prospectus prepared by the Company and filed with the Commission on May 12, 2011 pursuant to Rule 433 of the Act (the “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”).  The documents listed in Schedule II to the Underwriting Agreement, taken together, are collectively referred to as the “Pricing Disclosure Package.”

 

In addition, we have examined, and have relied as to matters of fact upon, the documents delivered to you at the closing (except the certificate representing the Notes, of which we have examined a specimen), and we have made such other and further investigations as we deemed necessary to express the opinions hereinafter set forth.  In such examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.

 

The Indenture and the Underwriting Agreement are herein referred to collectively as the “Agreements.”

 

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion, relying as to matters of Florida and Mississippi law upon the opinion dated the date hereof rendered to you by Beggs & Lane, a Registered Limited Liability Partnership (“Beggs & Lane”), and relying as to matters of New York law upon the opinion dated the date hereof rendered to you by Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, that:

 

1.           The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the state of Florida, is duly qualified to carry on its business as a foreign corporation under the laws of the states of Georgia and Mississippi and has due corporate authority to carry on the public utility business in

 

 

 

 

 

2.           The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action, and the Underwriting Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company.

 

3.           All orders, consents or other authorizations or approvals of the Florida Public Service Commission and the Commission legally required for the issuance and the sale of the Notes have been obtained; such orders are sufficient for the issuance and the sale of the Notes; the issuance and sale of the Notes conform in all material respects with the terms of such orders; and no other order, consent or other authorization or approval of any Florida or United States governmental body (other than in connection or in compliance with the provisions of the securities or “blue sky” laws of any jurisdiction, as to which we express no opinion) is legally required for the issuance and sale of the Notes in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement.

 

4.           The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and legally binding instrument of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Indenture may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Indenture conforms as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

5.           The Notes have been duly authorized and executed by the Company and, when authenticated by the Trustee in the manner provided in the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Notes may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Notes conform as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

6.           The Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

 

We have not independently verified the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements made or included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents and take no responsibility therefor, except as and to the extent set forth in paragraphs 4 and 5

 

 

 

above.  In the course of the preparation by the Company of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and the Exchange Act Documents, we participated in conferences with certain officers and employees of the Company, with other counsel for the Company, with representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP and with your counsel.  Based upon our examination of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and the Exchange Act Documents, our investigations made in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and the Exchange Act Documents and our participation in the conferences referred to above, (i) we are of the opinion that the Registration Statement, on the Effective Date, and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as of May 12, 2011, complied as to form in all material respects with the relevant requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and that the Exchange Act Documents, as of their respective dates of filing with the Commission, complied as to form in all material respects with the relevant requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, except that in each case we express no opinion as to the financial statements or other financial or statistical data contained or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents, and (ii) we confirm to you that nothing came to our attention which gives us reason to believe (A) that the Registration Statement, on the Effective Date (including the Exchange Act Documents on file with the Commission as of such date), contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (B) that the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or (C) that the Final Supplemented Prospectus (including the Exchange Act Documents) contained, as of its date, or contains, on the date hereof, any untrue statement therein of a material fact or omitted, as of its date, or omits, on the date hereof, to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that in each case we express no opinion or belief with respect to the financial statements or other financial or statistical data contained or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents and with respect to information set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus under the caption “Description of the Series 2011A Senior Notes ─ Book-Entry Only Issuance ─ The Depository Trust Company.”

 

The attorneys in this firm that are rendering this opinion are members of the State Bar of Georgia and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the law of the State of Georgia, the federal law of the United States and, to the extent set forth herein, the laws of the States of Florida, Mississippi and New York.

 

 

 

This opinion letter is rendered by us only to you and is solely for your benefit in your capacity as Underwriters in connection with the above-described transaction.  This opinion letter is limited to the date hereof.  This opinion letter may not be used, quoted or relied upon by you for any other purpose, or relied upon by or furnished to any other person without our prior written consent, except that Beggs & Lane may rely on this opinion in giving its opinion pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Underwriting Agreement insofar as such opinion relates to matters of Georgia law and the federal law of the United States and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP may rely on this opinion in giving its opinion pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Underwriting Agreement insofar as such opinion relates to matters of Georgia law.

 

 

Yours very truly,

 

 

 

TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule IV

 

 

 

[Letterhead of EMMET, MARVIN & MARTIN, LLP]

 

May 18, 2011

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

 

UBS Securities LLC

677 Washington Boulevard

Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

301 South College Street

Charlotte, North Carolina 28288

as Representatives of the Several Underwriters

Gulf Power Company

One Energy Place

Pensacola, Florida 32520

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel for The Bank of New York Mellon (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (formerly known as The Chase Manhattan Bank)) (“BNYM”), in connection with the issuance by Gulf Power Company (the “Company”) of $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 (the “Notes”).  The Notes are being issued under the Senior Note Indenture dated as of January 1, 1998 (the “Original Indenture”) between the Company and BNYM, as trustee (in such capacity, the “Trustee”), as heretofore supplemented and as further supplemented by the Eighteenth Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 18, 2011 (the “Supplemental Indenture” and, together with the Original Indenture, the “Indenture”) between the Company and the Trustee.

 

 

 

 

For purposes of this opinion, we have reviewed the Indenture and such other documents, records and papers, and satisfied ourselves as to such other matters, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for this opinion.  As to questions of fact material to this opinion, we have relied on certificates of BNYM and of public officials.  In such review, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies or forms and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.  We have assumed that BNYM has been duly incorporated and that the Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the valid and binding agreement of, and is enforceable in accordance with its terms against, the Company.

 

Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications below, we are of the opinion that:

 

1)           BNYM is a banking corporation validly existing under the laws of the State of New York with corporate power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the Indenture.

2)           The Supplemental Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by BNYM and the Indenture constitutes a valid and binding agreement of BNYM enforceable against BNYM in accordance with its terms, except as may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and by an implied covenant of reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing.

We are members of the Bar of the State of New York and, for purposes of this opinion, do not hold ourselves out as experts on the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.  The opinions expressed herein are limited to matters governed by the laws of the State of New York.

 

This opinion is solely for your benefit in connection with the issuance and sale by the Company of the Notes and may not be relied upon by you for any other purpose, or relied upon or furnished to any other person, without our prior written consent.

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

Schedule V

[Letterhead of DEWEY & LEBOEUF LLP]

May 18, 2011

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

 

UBS Securities LLC

677 Washington Boulevard

Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

301 South College Street

Charlotte, North Carolina 28288

as Representatives of the Several Underwriters

 

GULF POWER COMPANY

Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have represented the Underwriters (as hereinafter defined) in connection with (i) the issuance by Gulf Power Company (the “Company”) of $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its Series 2011A 5.75% Senior Notes due June 1, 2051 (the “Notes”) pursuant to a Senior Note Indenture dated as of January 1, 1998, by and between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (formerly known as The Chase Manhattan Bank)), as trustee (the “Trustee”), as heretofore supplemented and as further supplemented by the Eighteenth Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 18, 2011 (collectively, the “Indenture”); and (ii) the purchase by the Underwriters (as defined herein) of the Notes pursuant to the terms of an Underwriting Agreement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), among the Company and the Underwriters named in Schedule I thereto (the “Underwriters”) for whom you are acting as representatives (the

 

 

 

All capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.

 

In rendering the opinions expressed below, we have examined the registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-172698) pertaining to the Notes and certain other securities filed by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), as it became effective under the Act (the “Registration Statement”); the Company’s prospectus dated March 21, 2011 (the “Basic Prospectus”), as supplemented by a preliminary prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (the “Pricing Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and the Current Reports on Form 8-K of the Company dated January 20, 2011 and May 9, 2011 (the “Pricing Exchange Act Documents”), and a prospectus supplement dated May 12, 2011 (together with the Basic Prospectus, the “Final Supplemented Prospectus”), filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act, which, pursuant to Form S-3, incorporates by reference the Pricing Exchange Act Documents and the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company dated May 12, 2011 (the “Exchange Act Documents”), each as filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); and the Indenture.  We have also examined the free writing prospectus prepared by the Company and filed with the Commission on May 12, 2011 pursuant to Rule 433 of the Act (the “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”).  The documents listed in Schedule II to the Underwriting Agreement, taken together, are collectively referred to as the “Pricing Disclosure Package.”

 

In addition, we have examined, and have relied as to matters of fact upon, the documents delivered to you at the closing (except the certificate representing the Notes, of which we have examined a specimen), and we have made such other and further investigations as we deemed necessary to express the opinions hereinafter set forth.  In such examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.

 

The Indenture and the Underwriting Agreement are herein referred to collectively as the “Agreements.”

 

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion, relying as aforesaid and as to all matters covered hereby which are governed by or dependent upon the laws of the States of Florida and Mississippi upon the opinion of Beggs & Lane, a Registered Limited Liability Partnership (“Beggs & Lane”), dated the date hereof and addressed to you and as to all

 

 

 

1.           The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Florida, is duly qualified to carry on its business as a foreign corporation under the laws of the States of Georgia and Mississippi and has due corporate authority to carry on the public utility business in which it is engaged, to own and operate the properties used by it in such business and to enter into and perform its obligations under the Agreements and the Notes.

 

2.           The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action, and the Underwriting Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company.

 

3.           All orders, consents or other authorizations or approvals of the Florida Public Service Commission and the Commission legally required for the issuance and the sale of the Notes have been obtained; such orders are sufficient for the issuance and the sale of the Notes; the issuance and sale of the Notes conform in all material respects with the terms of such orders; and no other order, consent or other authorization or approval of any Florida or United States governmental body (other than in connection or in compliance with the provisions of the securities or “blue sky” laws of any jurisdiction, as to which we express no opinion) is legally required for the issuance and sale of the Notes in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement.

 

4.           The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, constitutes a valid and legally binding instrument of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Indenture may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Indenture conforms as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

5.           The Notes have been duly authorized and executed by the Company and, when authenticated by the Trustee in the manner provided in the Indenture and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to the qualifications that the enforceability of the Company’s obligations under the Notes may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law); and the Notes conform as to legal matters in all material respects to the description thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus.

 

 

 

 

6.           The Indenture has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

 

We have not independently verified the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements made or included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents and take no responsibility therefor, except as and to the extent set forth in paragraphs 4 and 5 above.  In the course of the preparation by the Company of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and the Exchange Act Documents, we participated in conferences with certain officers and employees of the Company, with representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP and with counsel to the Company.  Based upon our examination of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus and the Exchange Act Documents, our investigations made in connection with the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Final Supplemented Prospectus and our participation in the conferences referred to above, (i) we are of the opinion that the Registration Statement, on the Effective Date, and the Final Supplemented Prospectus, as of May 12, 2011, complied as to form in all material respects with the relevant requirements of the Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and that the Exchange Act Documents, as of their respective dates of filing with the Commission, complied as to form in all material respects with the relevant requirements of the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, except that in each case we express no opinion as to the financial statements or other financial or statistical data contained or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents, and (ii) we confirm to you that nothing came to our attention which gives us reason to believe that the Registration Statement, on the Effective Date (including the Exchange Act Documents on file with the Commission as of such date), contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, that the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or that the Final Supplemented Prospectus (including the Exchange Act Documents) contained, as of its date, or contains, on the date hereof, any untrue statement therein of a material fact or omitted, as of its date, or omits, on the date hereof, to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that in each case we express no opinion or belief with respect to the financial statements or other financial or statistical data contained or incorporated by reference in (or omitted from) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Final Supplemented Prospectus or the Exchange Act Documents and with respect to information set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Final Supplemented Prospectus under the caption “Description of the Series 2011A Senior Notes ─ Book-Entry Only Issuance ─ The Depository Trust Company.”

 

 

 

 

We are members of the State Bar of New York and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the law of the State of New York and the federal law of the United States and, to the extent set forth herein, the law of the States of Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

 

This opinion letter is rendered by us only to you and is solely for your benefit in your capacity as Underwriters in connection with the above matter.  This opinion letter is limited to the date hereof.  This opinion letter may not be used, quoted or relied upon by you for any other purpose, or relied upon by or furnished to any other person without our prior written consent except that Beggs & Lane LLP and Troutman Sanders LLP may rely on this opinion in giving their opinions pursuant to Section 6 of the Underwriting Agreement, insofar as such opinions relate to matters of New York law, and Troutman Sanders LLP may rely on this opinion in giving its opinion pursuant to Sections 102, 302 and 904 of the Indenture, insofar as such opinion relates to matters of New York law.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

 

DEWEY & LEBOEUF LLP