Acquisitions bring total to 21 for Aqua America subsidiaries this year
BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) announced today that its Texas subsidiary
has acquired the assets of the Bluewater Key Water Company and Carrizo
Water Company in Henderson County, Texas for $874,000. Aqua also
announced that its North Carolina subsidiary has acquired the wastewater
system assets of Emerald Plantation Utilities, Inc. in Emerald Isle,
Carteret County for $900,000.
The Bluewater/Carrizo system is a "tuck-in" acquisition that serves
approximately 1,150 people near Aqua's existing Lake Palestine
operations in northeast Texas. Aqua America continues to focus its
growth-through-acquisition strategy in its faster-growing states such as
Texas where it has completed eight acquisitions this year. Earlier this
month, Aqua announced an agreement of sale to purchase 51 water and five
wastewater systems in Texas from American Water, which serve nearly
4,200 water and nearly 1,100 wastewater customers (approximately 16,000
people).The transaction is expected to be completed during the third
quarter of 2011 following regulatory approval.
Aqua North Carolina recently purchased the Emerald Plantation wastewater
system at the request of the Carteret County Health Department and state
regulators. Aqua North Carolina plans to make investments to improve the
system's infrastructure to provide better service to customers. Emerald
Plantation serves a subdivision of approximately 60 residents and a
shopping center. Aqua has acquired two water systems and one wastewater
system in North Carolina this year.
"We continue to strategically plan and execute our growth efforts in the
right states like Texas and North Carolina, fast-growing states where we
have critical mass and can achieve economies of scale, which equates to
better, more cost-effective service for customers," said Aqua Chairman
and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis. "And, in the case of troubled systems
such as Emerald Plantation, we can put our experience and resources to
work to resolve ongoing problems."
Aqua America is one of the largest U.S.-based, publicly-traded water
utilities serving almost 3 million residents in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina,
Maine, Missouri, New York, South Carolina and Georgia. Aqua America is
listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTR.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that address, among
other things: benefits from the acquisition of the acquired systems and
the impact the company may have on the acquired systems, the
continuation of the company's strategy to pursue the acquisition of
water and wastewater systems, the expected timing of the acquisitions,
and planned investments in the acquired systems. There are important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including: the
risk that the acquired company's business will not be successfully
integrated; and other key factors that we have indicated could adversely
affect our business and financial performance discussed in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, which
is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aqua America is
not under any obligation—and expressly disclaims any such obligation—to
update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of
new information, future events, or otherwise.
WTRF
Aqua America
Donna Alston
Manager, Communications
610-645-1095
dpalston@aquaamerica.com
or
Brian
Dingerdissen
Director, Investor Relations
610-645-1191
bjdingerdissen@aquaamerica.com
Source: Aqua America, Inc.
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