NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) April 30, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today that it placed its triple-'B' corporate credit rating for the electricity company Aquila Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications, following the announcement of the company's acquisition of Charlotte, N.C.-based Cogentrix Energy Inc. The double-'B'-plus rating on Cogentrix was placed on CreditWatch with positive implications. On completion of the merger, Cogentrix will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.- based Aquila, and its debt will be guaranteed by Aquila. About $2.3 billion of debt at Aquila and $455 million of debt at Cogentrix is affected. "The Cogentrix transaction adds both positive and negative elements to Aquila's credit profile," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Todd Shipman.
