UPDATE: RWE CFO: Co Still Aims To Fully Divest American Water
February 26 2009 - 5:38AM
Dow Jones News
German utility RWE AG (RWE.XE) still intends to fully divest all
its shares in its U.S. water unit American Water Works Co. (AWK),
Chief Financial Officer Rolf Pohlig said Thursday.
"We're planning to reduce our stake to below 50% as swiftly as
possible in a first step," Pohlig told reporters during the
company's annual earnings press conference.
Whether or not this will happen in 2009 remains uncertain,
however, given the current financial markets environment, Pohlig
added.
The ultimate goal of RWE is to sell all of its shares in
American Water, he said.
Originally, the company had planned to reduce its stake to below
50% before the end of 2008, but the deterioration of stock markets
due to the financial crisis shot down RWE's plans.
RWE sold a 39.5% stake in American Water in an initial public
offering on the New York Stock Exchange in early 2007. The
divestment plans for American Water are part of RWE's efforts to
refocus the company as a pure power and gas player.
It still owns around 60% in American Water, Pohlig said.
Company Web site: www.rwe.com
-By Jan Hromadko, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 503;
jan.hromadko@dowjones.com