RALEIGH, N.C., April 29, 2002 — Progress Ventures, a business unit of Progress Energy, announced Monday that it closed on its acquisition of Westchester Gas Company for $148 million ($128 million in Progress Energy common stock and $20 million cash).
The deal adds approximately 215 producing gas wells, 52 miles of intrastate pipeline and 170 miles of gas gathering systems to Progress Ventures growing energy portfolio. The investment is expected to be accretive to Progress Energy’s earnings in 2002.
“Progress Ventures will continue to look for quality assets like Westchester Gas that further diversify our holdings, provide natural hedges for our other businesses like merchant generation and offer earnings growth potential for the company,” said Tom Kilgore, president, Progress Ventures.
Westchester Gas Company is a privately held natural gas company located in Jonesville, Texas. The properties are located within a twenty-five mile radius in Texas and Louisiana. Progress Ventures participates in the wholesale energy business through fuel extraction, manufacturing and delivery; merchant generation; and energy marketing and trading.
Progress Energy is a Fortune 250 diversified holding company headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., with more than 20,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $8 billion in annual revenues.
The company’s diverse portfolio includes two major electric utility companies, CP&L and Florida Power, as well as NCNG, Progress Rail, Progress Telecom and Progress Ventures, which manages the company’s non-regulated energy operations including fuel extraction, manufacturing and delivery; merchant generation; and energy marketing and trading.
These companies serve 2.9 million customers across the Southeast, providing electricity, natural gas, energy services and broadband capacity. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company’s Web site at https://www.progress-energy.com.
