NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 16, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Aquila Inc.'s (B/Negative/--) announcement that it has reached an agreement to sell its Canadian utility business to Fortis Inc., a Canadian energy company, for approximately $990 million will not affect the ratings or outlook on the company. The asset sale demonstrates management's continued commitment to its restructuring plan and efforts to address the company's strained liquidity position and leveraged financial profile. However, the event does not constitute a basis for rating action because the current ratings already reflected the expectation of the asset sale.
