NEWARK, Del. and ISELIN, N.J., Nov. 13, 2001 — Artesian Resources Corporation and Middlesex Water Company today announced that they have discontinued their negotiations regarding the sale of Middlesex's Delaware subsidiary, Tidewater Utilities, Inc., to Artesian.
According to Dian C. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Artesian Resources Corporation, "Although we continue to believe that Artesian's acquisition of Tidewater Utilities, Inc. would offer substantial benefits to both companies and their customers, we unfortunately have been unable to reach agreement with Middlesex on the terms of a definitive purchase agreement."
J. Richard Tompkins, President of Tidewater Utilities, Inc., stated that, "Although the proposed acquisition by Artesian would have provided benefits, we are confident that Tidewater's personnel will continue to provide high quality water service to our customers as an independent water utility in Delaware."
Artesian Resources Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Artesian Water Company, is the oldest and largest investor owned regulated public water utility in the state of Delaware. In operation since 1905, Artesian Water serves approximately 66,000 metered customers, an estimated 214,000 people representing about 27% of Delaware's total population. Artesian serves customers in all three Delaware counties.
Tidewater Utilities, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Middlesex Water Company. Middlesex, one of the domestic investor owned water utilities in New Jersey, purchased Tidewater Utilities in 1992. Since that time, Tidewater's customer base had grown to more than 19,000.
