Research Update: CMS Energy Corp. Ratings Affirmed On Announcement of EnerBank Sale; Outlook Stable

On June 8, 2021, CMS Energy Corp. announced its strategic sale of 100% of its stake in EnerBank USA, its Utah-chartered bank subsidiary, to Regions Bank, an Alabama state-chartered bank, for a purchase price of $960 million in cash considerations. Management has indicated it expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the company will use the proceeds to eliminate its planned equity issuances from 2022 to 2024 and fund capital investment in its utility business. We affirmed our 'BBB+' issuer credit rating on parent CMS Energy Corp. with a stable outlook. We affirmed our 'A-' issuer credit rating on subsidiary Consumers Energy Co., with a stable outlook The stable rating outlook on CMS Energy reflects

...- On June 8, 2021, CMS Energy Corp. announced its strategic sale of 100% of its stake in EnerBank USA, its Utah-chartered bank subsidiary, to Regions Bank, an Alabama state-chartered bank, for a purchase price of $960 million in cash considerations. - Management has indicated it expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the company will use the proceeds to eliminate its planned equity issuances from 2022 to 2024 and fund capital investment in its utility business. - We affirmed our '###+' issuer credit rating on parent CMS Energy Corp. with a stable outlook. - We affirmed our 'A-' issuer credit rating on subsidiary Consumers Energy Co., with a stable outlook - The stable rating outlook on CMS Energy reflects our expectation that management will continue focusing on its core utility operations and reach constructive regulatory outcomes to avoid increasing business risk. The outlook also reflects our base-case forecast level of CMS Energy's consolidated funds from...

Research Update