BRYN MAWR, PA, July 5, 2007 -- Aqua America Inc. announced today that its subsidiaries completed additional water and wastewater system acquisitions in Florida and Pennsylvania at the close of the second quarter of 2007. With the latest transactions, the company reported that it expanded its base by more than 30,000 people through acquisitions during the first half of the year.
The combined purchase price for the three recently acquired systems is approximately $160,000.
In Florida, the company purchased the water and wastewater systems serving the Breeze Hill residential community in Lake Wales, Polk County. The systems provide drinking water and sewer service to the approximately 375 people in the development. The company plans to invest approximately $135,000 over the next several years for improvements to the Breeze Hill water and wastewater systems, including upgrades to the wastewater plant and installation of a radio frequency-equipped water meter reading system.
In Pennsylvania, the company acquired the wastewater system assets of the Greens at Penn Oaks development, which is home to nearly 200 people in Thornbury Township, Chester County.
"In the first half, we achieved several key growth objectives that included another municipal system acquisition and further expansion of our footprint in New York's well-established Long Island market," said Aqua America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas DeBenedictis. "In total, we brought more than 30,000 new people into Aqua's service territories through acquisitions in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Florida during the first half."
One of the company's largest acquisitions in the first half of 2007 was its purchase of the water system assets of the Village of Manteno in Kankakee County, IL, on June 18. The fast-growing municipal water system serves approximately 10,000 people and is located near the proposed site of the third Chicago-area airport. In April, the company closed the acquisition of Aquarion Water Company of Sea Cliff Inc., which serves approximately 13,000 customers on Long Island. The Sea Cliff system, which the company purchased from Kelda Group, Inc, is located close to the company's New York Water Service operation, which the company acquired at the close of 2006.
Aqua America is a publicly traded water and wastewater utility holding company, with operating subsidiaries serving approximately 2.8 million people in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri, and South Carolina. Aqua America is listed on both the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol WTR.
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Also see:
-- "Aqua America acquires municipal water system in Illinois"
-- "Aqua America adds to Texas expansion with new acquisition"
-- "American Water names new state president in Pennsylvania"
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