ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND--(CCNMatthews - July 23, 2007) - Fortis Properties Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc. (TSX:FTS), has entered into an agreement to purchase Delta Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan from Remai Investment Corporation for a purchase price of $49.95 million. The transaction is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2007, subject to obtaining required approvals and assignments and fulfilling normal closing conditions.
Delta Regina is comprised of 274 hotel rooms, the Saskatchewan Trade and Convention Centre, 52,000 square feet of Class A commercial office space and a parking garage.
"This acquisition marks another milestone for Fortis Properties as we expand our geographic footprint to an eighth Canadian province," says Nora Duke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Properties Corporation. "Delta Regina is a premiere, multi-use facility that enhances our portfolio of high-quality hotel and commercial real estate assets," she adds.
"This acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings of Fortis," says Stan Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Inc. "It enables Fortis Properties to continue to grow its earnings while building on its reputation for superior customer service combined with high-quality, well-situated hotels," adds Marshall.
"We welcome the approximately 200 employees at Delta Regina to our team and look forward to their continued service and contribution to customer service excellence," concludes Duke.
With the addition of this hotel, Fortis Properties owns and operates 19 hotels, representing over 3,500 rooms, in eight Canadian provinces. In addition to these holdings, the Company owns and operates over 2.7 million square feet of office and retail space in Atlantic Canada and 12 hydroelectric generating plants in Newfoundland and Ontario, Canada and upstate New York, USA. Fortis Properties employs more than 1,700 people. Visit www.fortisproperties.com for additional information about Fortis Properties.
Please see the attached backgrounder for additional information on the Delta Regina.
Fortis Inc., the largest investor-owned distribution utility in Canada, serves almost two million gas and electric customers and has approximately $10 billion of assets. Its regulated holdings include a natural gas utility in British Columbia and electric utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries. Fortis Inc. owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns hotels and commercial real estate in Canada. Fortis Inc. shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol FTS. Additional information can be accessed at www.fortisinc.com or www.sedar.com.
Fortis Inc. may include forward-looking statements in this release which reflect management's expectations regarding the Corporation's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expects", "intend" and similar expressions have been used to identify the forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to the Corporation's management. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are based on underlying factors or assumptions which are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally. Such risk factors or assumptions include, but are not limited to, regulation, the integration of Terasen Gas, energy prices, general economic conditions, weather and seasonality, natural gas distribution operating risks, natural gas supply, derivatives and hedging, capital resources, loss of service area, licences and permits, environment, insurance, labour relations, human resources and liquidity risk. Fortis cautions readers that a number of factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these risks or factors, reference should be made to the Corporation's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities including those factors described under the heading "Business Risk Management" in the Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2006 and in the Management Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2007. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Backgrounder
Delta Regina
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- Located in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan on Saskatchewan Drive
- 274 rooms, including business class rooms and suites
- 25 storey complex includes 26,600 square foot Saskatchewan Trade and
Convention Centre, 52,000 square feet of Class A office space and a
parking garage
- Features food and beverage facilities, a water park and is connected,
via skywalk, to Casino Regina and the city's largest shopping centre
- Opened in 1988
Click on the following link to view a photo of the Delta Regina:
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/delta.jpg
Fortis Properties Hospitality Holdings
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Hotel Location
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Delta St. John's St. John's, Newfoundland
and Labrador
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Holiday Inn St. John's St. John's, Newfoundland
and Labrador
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Mount Peyton Grand Falls-Windsor,
Newfoundland and Labrador
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Greenwood Inn and Suites Corner Brook,
Corner Brook Newfoundland and Labrador
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Four Points by Sheraton Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Delta Sydney Sydney, Nova Scotia
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Delta Brunswick Saint John, New Brunswick
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Holiday Inn Peterborough-Waterfront Peterborough, Ontario
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Holiday Inn Cambridge Cambridge, Ontario
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Holiday Inn Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener, Ontario
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Holiday Inn Sarnia Sarnia, Ontario
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Greenwood Inn and Suites Winnipeg Winnipeg, Alberta
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Greenwood Inn and Suites Edmonton Edmonton, Alberta
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Greenwood Inn and Suites Calgary Calgary, Alberta
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Ramada Hotel and Suites Lethbridge Lethbridge, Alberta
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Best Western Medicine Hat, Alberta
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Holiday Inn Express Medicine Hat Medicine Hat, Alberta
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Holiday Inn Express Kelowna Kelowna, British Columbia
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Fortis Inc.
Barry V. Perry
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(709) 737-2822
Website: www.fortisinc.com
Fortis Properties Corporation
Neal J. Jackman
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(709) 737-2800
Website: www.fortisproperties.com
