NAPERVILLE, Ill., Dec. 11, 2003 — Nicor Inc. released the following statement in response to Thursday’s announcements by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding charges against former employees of Nicor Energy, LLC, a 50-percent owned joint venture with Dynegy Marketing and Trade that is no longer in operation.
— During the time period covered by the charged conduct, Nicor Energy, a retail energy marketing business, had its own management and was operated separately from Nicor Inc. and Nicor Gas. None of the individuals are employees of Nicor Inc. or Nicor Gas, nor were they at the time of the charged conduct. Nicor Energy disposed of all of its natural gas and electric accounts earlier this year and the business is in a final liquidation phase.
— Nicor Inc. originally discovered accounting irregularities at Nicor Energy as part of a 2001 year-end audit and management review of Nicor Energy’s financial results. Nicor Inc. publicly disclosed these findings to federal authorities and the investment community. Nicor Inc. has cooperated fully throughout the investigation and is pleased that this matter has now come to a resolution.
— Nicor Inc. wrote down to zero its investment in this joint venture in the third quarter 2002. These indictments are not expected to have a material impact on the financial results of Nicor Inc.
Nicor Inc. (NYSE: GAS) is a holding company and is a member of the S&P 500. Its principal businesses are Nicor Gas, one of the nation’s largest natural gas distribution companies, and Tropical Shipping, a containerized shipping business serving the Caribbean region. Nicor also owns several energy-related businesses and has equity interests in several energy-related businesses. For more information, visit the Nicor website at www.nicor.com.
