FirstEnergy Rises on $230 Million Settlement in Bribery Case

FirstEnergy Corp. surged the most in more than five months Thursday after the Ohio utility reached an agreement with federal prosecutors over a corruption case involving a $1 billion state bailout for nuclear power plants.

Under a deferred-prosecution agreement announced Thursday, FirstEnergy admitted that it conspired with public officials and others to pay millions of dollars in bribes. The company agreed to pay $230 million, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

Investors, however, feared the penalties would be even worse, said Katie Bays, an analyst at FiscalNote Markets. ...