RELIANT ENERGY COMPLETES FIRST PHASE OF DUTCH ACQUISITION
RELIANT ENERGY COMPLETES FIRST PHASE OF DUTCH ACQUISITION Houston, October 8 (PRN) - Reliant Energy (NYSE: REI) has announced that it has completed the first phase of its acquisition of the Dutch power generation company N.V. Energieproduktiebedrijf UNA (UNA). In this first phase of the acquisition, Reliant Energy has purchased an initial 40 percent interest in UNA for approximately 775 million US dollars. The total purchase price includes approximately 352 million dlrs in cash and a note in the amount of approximately 423 million dlrs. Reliant Energy will increase its ownership interest to 52 percent by December 1. The revised agreement calls for Reliant Energy to purchase the remaining shares on March 1, 2000. The total purchase price of the acquisition is approximately 2.4 billion dlrs at today's exchange rate. UNA is one of four large Dutch power generators, and its 3,400 megawatts of capacity represents nearly 20 percent of the Dutch market. UNA operates a combination of gas, coal and cogeneration plants in the Amsterdam and Utrecht areas. Reliant Energy, based in Houston, Texas, is an international energy delivery and energy services company with 11.5 billion dlrs in annual revenue, assets totaling more than 19 billion dlrs and a presence in most of the major power regions of the U.S. The company has approximately 18,500 megawatts of power generation in operation, announced development projects totaling more than 3,500 megawatts of power generation, a top-ten wholesale energy trading business, and marketing and distribution serving nearly 4 million electricity and natural gas customers. Reliant Energy also has significant interests in power distribution operations in Latin America serving nearly 10 million customers. The acquisition of UNA represents the company's first significant move into Western Europe. UNS Contact: media, Sandy Fruhman, tel Texas +1 713-207-3123, or investors, Randy Burkhalter, tel +1 713-207-3115, both of Reliant Energy Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/419090.html or fax, +1 800 758-5804, ext. 419090 (REI)