Tuesday December 5, 2006
Aqua America Enters
Pennsylvania's Lehigh County with Acquisition of Three Water Systems
Source: Business Wire
The transaction includes three systems that supply water to approximately 1,000 residents in Lower Macungie, South Whitehall and Salisbury townships near Allentown. The Pennsylvania Pubic Utility Commission approved the acquisition.
"Although we've been doing business and growing operations across Pennsylvania for 120 years, this transaction marks a milestone as our first major acquisition in Lehigh County," said Aqua America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas DeBenedictis. "We anticipate that it will lead to further acquisition opportunities in one of the state's high-growth areas, where the market is fragmented with nearly 40 water systems of various sizes."
The company plans to invest nearly $230,000 over the next few years for capital improvements to the three water systems, including structural and electrical upgrades to the water treatment facilities and the installation of state-of-the-art radio frequency water meter technology for all customers.
Aqua Pennsylvania is the largest subsidiary of Aqua America and provides water and wastewater service to approximately 1.4 million residents across the state. Aqua America is the largest U.S.-based publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company, serving more than 2.5 million residents in 13 states. Aqua America, Inc. is listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol WTR.
Contact:
Aqua America, Inc.
Donna Alston, Manager, Communications
610-645-1095
dpalston@aquaamerica.com
or
Terry Maenza, Senior Communications Specialist
610-645-1175
tmmaenza@aquaamerica.com
