INDIANAPOLIS and MERRILLVILLE, Ind., April 30, 2002 -- The City of Indianapolis and NiSource Inc. have closed the previously announced sale of the Indianapolis Water Company and other assets of NiSource's IWC Resources (IWCR) Corporation and its subsidiaries for $540 million. This includes the assumption of approximately $160 million in IWCR debt.
NiSource said it will apply the $380 million in net proceeds from the sale to debt reduction. NiSource also announced that it sold its interest in the White River Environmental Partnership, which operates wastewater treatment plants, to the other partners for $8 million. NiSource also will apply these proceeds to debt reduction.
NiSource Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Gary L. Neale said, "The sale of the Indianapolis Water Company and other assets is consistent with our strategy of focusing on our core natural gas and electric businesses and reflects NiSource's intentions to dispose of non-core assets. We intend to apply the net proceeds of the sales to debt reduction."
NiSource was allowed three years to sell its water assets as part of the order by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approving the NiSource- Columbia merger, which was completed Nov. 1, 2000. The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 requires utility holding companies to divest operations not integral to their primary operations.
NiSource Inc. is a holding company with headquarters in Merrillville, Ind., whose operating companies engage in the exploration and production, transmission, storage and distribution of natural gas, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. Its operating companies provide service to 3.7 million customers located within the high-demand energy corridor that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico through the Midwest to New England. Information about NiSource and its subsidiaries is available via the Internet at www.nisource.com .
