PNC Financial Services Group, the regional bank that is acquiring Raleigh-based RBC Bank, saw profits decline 40 percent in the fourth-quarter, the company reported today.

The Pittsburgh-based bank, which ranks as the nation's sixth-largest bank based on assets, reported net income of $493 million, or 85 cents per share.

That was well below the $1.49 cents per share that was the average of 26 analysts that cover the company, according to Bloomberg News.

PNC reported net income of $820 million, or $1.50 per share, during the same period a year ago.

The company took a $240 million charge in the fourth quarter for foreclosure-related activities.

For the year, net income was $3.1 billion, or $5.64 per share.

CEO Jim Rohr said in a statement that the bank had a solid year given the challenging environment of low interest rates, increased regulation and overall sluggish economic growth.
 

Progress Energy and Duke Energy announced today that they've set Aug. 23 as the date that the utilities' shareholders will vote on their merger.

The companies expect to mail investors a joint prospectus about the deal on Monday. with instructions on how to vote online, by mail, by phone or in person. Anyone who owned shares at the close of business on July 5 is eligible to vote.

Duke will hold its meeting at 10 a.m. at its offices at 526 S. Church St., Charlotte.

Progress shareholders will meet at 11 a.m. at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, a few blocks from the company's downtown Raleigh headquarters.

The companies announced Jan. 10 that they planned to join forces, forming the nation's largest electricity utility with 7.1 million customers in six states. The combined company will take the Duke name and have its headquarters in Charlotte.

Talecris Biotherapeutics has postponed a meeting for shareholders to vote on its proposed $4 billion takeover by Grifols of Spain, as the deal awaits approval from U.S. antitrust regulators.

In December, Talecris had scheduled the meeting for Jan. 21 at a hotel near its Research Triangle Park headquarters, but the company announced this afternoon that it's now set for Feb. 14.

Talecris' union with Grifols, announced in June, would shift ownership of the state's largest biotechnology company to a Spanish firm eager to expand in the U.S. The deal is expected to spur some job losses among Talecris' more than 2,200 local employees as Grifols cuts costs.

The message from Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson to his jittery employees can be boiled down to: focus on your job and safety, change happens, be patient, trust me and I don’t know.

Plus: Do not talk to employees at Duke Energy.

Johnson did his best to calm, cajole and motivate about 1,500 Progress employees on Wednesday, two days after Raleigh-based Progress announced it would merge with Charlotte-based Duke to form the nation’s largest utility company. Hundreds of positions will likely be eliminated in Raleigh and in Charlotte as the two electric utilities consolidate operations to trim operating costs.

“For the majority, the vast majority of employees, this is a better opportunity,” Johnson assured his utility troops, according to a transcript of the meeting Progress filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “You get to grow your career in a bigger, more robust company, right? … Those are facts.”

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers ventured into enemy territory when he first met with his counterpart at Progress Energy to discuss a merger.

After Rogers called to suggest they talk about ways they might work together, Progress CEO Bill Johnson set up the July dinner at the Washington Duke Inn, on the campus of Duke University.

Rogers jokingly suggested during an interview with editors at The News & Observer Wednesday that Johnson had picked a site that would put him at a disadvantage.

Rogers is a University of Kentucky alumnus and a big basketball fan who still holds a grudge over the last-second shot the Blue Devils' Christian Laettner hit in a 1992 tournament game to beat UK.

"It's bad enough running a company called Duke," Rogers said, laughing.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson, who will become CEO of the combined utility when Duke Energy buys Progress, will make a base annual salary of $1.1 million.

He also will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $6.7 million, and various other perks under Duke's compensation policy, including use of the corporate aircraft. The companies disclosed some details of Johnson's three-year employment agreement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

Johnson, 57, also will be reimbursed for expenses related to his relocation to Charlotte.

The top boss at Progress Energy will meet with employees on Wednesday morning in Raleigh to discuss the utility's proposed union with Duke Energy.

The meeting with Progress CEO Bill Johnson was scheduled for today, but was delayed because of the winter weather. Spokesman Mike Hughes declined to comment on where or when the meeting will happen.

On Thursday, Johnson and Duke CEO Jim Rogers will meet with workers in downtown Charlotte. That meeting is scheduled to be held from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Knight Theater in Charlotte, the companies reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

Johnson and Rogers need support among the companies' thousands of workers, even though employees face several years of uncertainty about their future.

Duke Energy will be required to pay Progress Energy a breakup fee of $675 million if it backs out of its deal to buy the Raleigh-based utility.

Such fees are common with major corporate mergers, and are designed to include a financial incentive to keep the deal on track. The fees help cover legal costs and other expenses if a proposed union is terminated.

Progress will owe Charlotte-based Duke a $400 million fee if it accepts another offer or backs out of the Duke deal.

The companies disclosed the breakup fees in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The CEOs of Duke Energy and Progress Energy wouldn't comment on how many jobs might be eliminated as the companies merge, but said that they don't expect many forced layoffs, staff writer John Murawski reports.

"We're going to rely on attrition, retirements to take care of most of this," said Progress CEO Bill Johnson, who will be chief executive of the combined company.

Johnson and Duke CEO Jim Rogers, who will become chairman of the new company, said on a conference call that they won't have details on cost-cutting goals for some time. They expect to win shareholder and regulatory approvals for the deal by later this year.

Duke Energy announced this morning that it will buy Progress Energy in a all-stock deal worth about $26 billion, creating the largest electric utility in the nation with 7.1 million customers.

The expanded company will keep Duke's name and corporate identity. It will remain headquartered in Charlotte, boosting that city's profile as the state's business and finance capital, but "maintain substantial operations in Raleigh," the companies said.

The deal will result in Raleigh losing a Fortune 500 corporate headquarters when Progress ceases to exist as an independent company after 102 years of continuous operation. The union is expected to bring job cuts as the companies look to save money by consolidating operations, but could result in lower rates for customers.

Progress CEO Bill Johnson will become CEO of the combined company, while Duke CEO Jim Rogers will serve as chairman.