Fortis Inc. (FTS-T) announced Monday it will buy Central Vermont Public Service Corporation. CVPS serves 160,000 customers throughout the state.
This is the first American purchase for Fortis, a company that owns electricity generation and distribution services in Canada and Belize.
The reported price tag for the purchase in US$700 million including $230 million of debt.
Here’s a quote from Fortis chief executive Stan Marshall, taken from the abysmally written Fortis news release:
“The acquisition of CVPS represents the initial entry by Fortis into the U.S. regulated electric utility marketplace and establishes a foundation for Fortis to grow our utility business in the United States,” says Stan Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Inc.
“CVPS is a well-run utility whose operations are very similar to those of our Canadian regulated utilities, allowing us to use our collective competencies to further enhance service to customers and returns to our shareholders,” explains Marshall.
Based on financial information as at March 31, 2011, following the Acquisition, the total assets of Fortis will increase by approximately 7% to approximately $13.9 billion. The Corporation’s regulated electric and gas utility operations will account for approximately 55% and 37%, respectively, of the total assets of Fortis. Regulated utility assets in Canada and the United States will account for approximately 85% of the total assets of Fortis.
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