Research Update: FirstEnergy Corp. And Subsidiaries Ratings On CreditWatch Positive Following Deferred Prosecution Agreement

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) entered into a three year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Ohio (USSDO) under which the government filed a charge of honest services wire fraud, a charge similar to bribery against FE. Under the agreement, the company will pay $230 million split between the U.S. Treasury and the Ohio Development Service Agency for the benefit of Ohio utility customers that can't be recovered from customers. FE will fully cooperate with the government's investigation, and it will continue to adopt compliance and reporting remedial measures. The charges against the company will be dismissed at the end of three years if it meets its obligations under the agreement. We are revising the

...- FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) entered into a three year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Ohio (USSDO) under which the government filed a charge of honest services wire fraud, a charge similar to bribery against FE. Under the agreement, the company will pay $230 million split between the U.S. Treasury and the Ohio Development Service Agency for the benefit of Ohio utility customers that can't be recovered from customers. FE will fully cooperate with the government's investigation, and it will continue to adopt compliance and reporting remedial measures. The charges against the company will be dismissed at the end of three years if it meets its obligations under the agreement. - We are revising the CreditWatch implications to positive from negative on our '##' issuer credit rating on FE and its subsidiaries. We previously placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications on Nov. 24, 2020. - At the same time, we are placing all...

Research Update