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July 27, 2011

Conn. utility to buy Aqua Maine for $54M

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Water utility Aqua America is planning to sell its Maine subsidiary to a Connecticut utility for nearly $54 million.

If the Maine Public Utilities Commission approves the deal, Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Aqua America will sell Aqua Maine to Clinton, Conn.-based Connecticut Water Service Inc. for $53.5 million by the first quarter of 2012, according to a press release. Aqua Maine owns 11 water systems in Maine and serves about 48,000 people in 17 communities statewide. Connecticut Water will buy all the capital stock of Aqua Maine for $35.8 million, plus $17.7 million of long-term debt. The sale is part of Aqua America's strategy to "focus our resources in states where we have critical mass and consolidated rates," Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis said in a release. The deal is the sixth sale the company has announced in seven months. Aqua America entered Maine in 1999 through the merger of its predecessor, Philadelphia Suburban Corp., and Consumers Water Co. of Portland, spokeswoman Donna Alston said.

If approved, the acquisition will make Connecticut Water the largest U.S.-based publicly traded water utility in New England, with 106,000 customers.

The Hartford Business Journal contributed to this report.

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