NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 9, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Cleco Corp.'s (BBB/Negative/--) announcement to issue about 6 million common shares favors the company's credit profile but does not affect the rating on the company. The share issuance is favorable because the company will use the net proceeds to fund a portion of the construction costs of the company's 600 MW Rodemacher solid-fuel generation facility. The equity sale is in line with Cleco's strategy to fund the new generation facility and allows the underwriters to exercise the option to purchase an additional 900,000 shares, bringing the total to about 7 million shares.
