KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 3, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA) today announced that it has completed the sale of its natural gas utility operations in Michigan and two power generation "peaking" facilities in Illinois. The Michigan utility sale, the first of four utility businesses the company has agreed to sell for a total base price of $896.7 million, was announced in September 2005. The power plant sales were announced in December 2005. Aquila will use sale proceeds to reduce debt and other liabilities.
Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation, a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation, purchased Aquila's Michigan gas business for a base price of $269.5 million, plus an adjustment for working capital and other items. WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE:WPS), based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a publicly-traded holding company for energy-related subsidiaries. Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation will assume responsibility for serving over 160,000 former Aquila customers in Michigan immediately.
Union Electric Company d/b/a AmerenUE, a utility company subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, purchased Aquila's two merchant power generation peaking facilities for a total purchase price of $175 million. These facilities include the 510-megawatt Goose Creek Energy Center in Piatt County, Illinois, and the 340-megawatt Raccoon Creek Energy Center in Clay County, Illinois. The sale price for these facilities totaled $175 million. Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE), based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a publicly traded holding company for energy-related subsidiaries serving 2.4 million electric customers and nearly one million natural gas customers in Missouri and Illinois.
Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Aquila operates electricity and natural gas distribution utilities serving 1.1 million customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. The company also owns and operates power generation assets. More information is available at www.aquila.com.
The Aquila, Inc. logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1753
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information involves risk and uncertainties, and certain important factors can cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking information in this press release includes the statement that the company will use the net sale proceeds to retire debt and other liabilities. Some important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include the occurrence of certain events that impede the company's ability to apply the net sale proceeds towards debt and liability reduction, such as an unanticipated material increase in the cost of fuel or purchased power for a sustained period of time.