United Water Completed Sale of Regulated Operations in Arkansas

HARRINGTON PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Water, a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, announced today that it had completed the sale of its regulated water operations in Arkansas for $27.6 million to Liberty Utilities Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., a publicly traded Canadian company. Liberty Utilities has water and wastewater interests in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Texas.

“We served the residents and businesses of the Pine Bluff community for nearly 20 years and we appreciated the trust our customers had in our ability to provide them with clean, safe and reliable drinking water”

Bertrand Camus, Chief Executive Officer of United Water, stated that the sale of the company’s regulated business in Arkansas is consistent with the United Water’s strategy to optimize its portfolio of regulated companies and municipal contracts. The Arkansas regulated operations represent less than two percent of the company’s total regulated revenues and this divestiture will enable capital reallocation while customers will benefit from continued quality service from a well-respected water provider.

“We served the residents and businesses of the Pine Bluff community for nearly 20 years and we appreciated the trust our customers had in our ability to provide them with clean, safe and reliable drinking water,” Camus said. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to be a vibrant part of the Southeast Arkansas community, and we’re very confident that our customers will be in good hands as Liberty Utilities Co. is an outstanding company that will serve Pine Bluff well.”

Over the years, United Water has made multimillion dollar investments to improve water quality, service and reliability for its customers. Those investments include transmission and distribution systems and pumping equipment, as well as correcting system flow deficiencies.

United Water Arkansas provides domestic water service to about 49,000 people in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The company provides sewer and solid waste billing services to the city of Pine Bluff as well and has bulk water sales agreements with the community of White Hall and the Hardin Water Association. The company has 13 wells, 388 miles of mains, and three water treatment facilities with a combined capacity of 20 million gallons per day (MGD). United Water Arkansas is regulated by the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

About United Water

United Water is one of the nation’s leading environmental companies, providing water and wastewater services to approximately 5.7 million people in the United States. In addition to owning and operating 20 water utilities, United Water operates 100 municipal and industrial water and wastewater systems through innovative public-private partnerships and contract agreements. Founded in 1869, United Water is a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT.

About SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT

Natural resources are not infinite. Each day, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) and its subsidiaries deal with the challenge of protecting resources by providing innovative solutions to industries and to millions of people. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT supplies drinking water to 91 million people, provides wastewater treatment services for 63 million people and collects the waste produced by close to 57 million people. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT has 80,410 employees and, with its presence on a global scale, is a world leader exclusively dedicated to environmental services. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, a 35.7% GDF SUEZ affiliate, reported sales turnover of 14.8 billion Euros ($18.8 billion USD) at the end of financial year 2011.