Exelon Still Seeking Utility Acquisition, Co-CEO Says
By JON KAMP
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO -- Exelon Corp. (EXC) is looking to acquire a smaller integrated utility with retail customers, transmission and generation assets, co-Chief Executive John Rowe said Tuesday.
"We've made it very clear that continued growth by acquisition is part of our strategy," Rowe said in an interview. "Our ideal range would be something a third to half our size."
Exelon's market capitalization is $16 billion. The company would like to announce an acquisition this year, an Exelon spokeswoman said.
When Exelon was created in late 2000 by the merger of Chicago's Unicom Corp. and Philadelphia's PECO Energy Co., Rowe and co-CEO Corbin McNeill said they hoped to announce another deal by the end of 2001.
No utility deal emerged last year that met Exelon's needs, so the company focused instead on adding generation assets, Rowe said.
Most notably, the company said in December it would buy two natural gas-fired power plants producing a total 2,334 megawatts of capacity from Dallas-based TXU Corp. (TXU) in a deal valued at $443 million.
Exelon remains interested in acquiring more generation, particularly by buying up an integrated utility, Rowe said.
Exelon wants a target that would bring "geographic diversity," but Rowe declined to specify a region. In a recent report, Crain's Chicago Business quoted Rowe and McNeill as saying Exelon was targeting the eastern half of the U.S.
Updated February 19, 2002 2:43 p.m. EST |
