On April 30, Standard&Poor's placed its 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 corporate credit rating on Cogentrix has been 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. However, on balance, it has a greater potential to lower the company's overall credit quality. While
