Advertisement

GPU Buys 2nd Half of Midlands Electricity

Share via
Bloomberg News

GPU Inc. agreed to buy the half of British power provider Midlands Electricity that it doesn’t own from Cinergy Corp. for $700 million in cash, giving it a springboard into continental Europe’s $300-billion electricity market. GPU, which has 2 million power customers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, also will take on $1.1 billion in debt in the deal. The companies joined to buy Midlands in 1996 for $2.6 billion. Cincinnati-based Cinergy, which has 1.4 million power customers in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, paid $500 million in cash and assumed more than $800 million in debt. Shares in Morristown, N.J.-based GPU rose 25 cents to close at $42.25, while Cinergy rose 6 cents to close at $32.56, both on the NYSE.

*

Guide to Our Staff: Need to reach Business section reporters or editors? A guide to the section’s staff can be found at: https://www.latimes.com/bizstaff.

Advertisement