Strengthens geographic diversity and increases commercial customer base
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER UNITED STATES WIRE
SERVICES/
TORONTO, April 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Crius Energy Trust (TSX: KWH.UN), today
announced that Crius Energy LLC, a comprehensive energy solutions
provider, has executed, through its affiliates, a binding agreement to
acquire the U.S. retail energy customer portfolio of Superior Plus
Energy Services, a division of Superior Plus Corp. (TSX: SPB). The
acquisition includes approximately 20,000 residential and small
commercial customer accounts totaling approximately 40,000 residential
customer equivalents.
The acquisition strengthens the company's geographic footprint in New
York and Pennsylvania and adds to its growing portfolio of fixed rate
accounts. In addition, the transaction furthers the ongoing
diversification of its customer mix by increasing the company's overall
commercial customer base by approximately 15%. Customers added through
the acquisition will not experience any change to their service and
will be seamlessly transitioned either to Public Power or FTR Energy
Services, two of Crius Energy's retail brands, based on location and
service type.
"This is an important acquisition for us that furthers our
diversification efforts and leverages our multi-channel platform for
growth," said Michael Fallquist, Chief Executive Officer of the Trust
and Crius Energy. "We welcome the customers to the Crius Energy family
of brands and are committed to a smooth transition that will be
seamless from a customer perspective."
With a purchase price of up to $120 per residential customer equivalent
and minimal incremental operating cost, the company is confident the
acquisition will be accretive to earnings and gross margin in 2014.
"This transaction is an excellent opportunity for us to benefit from our
recently expanded credit facility with Macquarie Energy," said
Fallquist. "We are actively pursuing other acquisition targets and are
confident that we have sufficient cash availability to execute on other
accretive transactions. We remain focused on our goal to grow and
diversify our cash flows to support long-term distributions for our
unitholders which includes growth both organically and through
acquisitions."
About Crius Energy
Crius Energy Trust has been established to provide investors with a
distribution-producing investment through the acquisition of a 26.8%
ownership interest in Crius Energy. With over 610,000 residential
customer equivalents, Crius Energy is a comprehensive energy solutions
partner that provides electricity, natural gas and solar products to
residential and commercial customers. Crius Energy connects with energy
customers through an innovative family-of-brands strategy and
multi-channel marketing approach. This unique combination creates
multiple access points to a broad suite of energy products and services
that make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions about
their energy needs. With headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, Crius
Energy currently sells electricity, natural gas and/or solar power in
19 states and the District of Columbia. More information is available
at www.criusenergytrust.ca.
The Trust intends to qualify as a "mutual fund trust" under the Income
Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). The Trust will not be a "SIFT trust"
(as defined in the Tax Act), provided that the Trust complies at all
times with its investment restriction which precludes the Trust from
holding any "non-portfolio property" (as defined in the Tax Act).
Material information pertaining to the Trust may be found on www.sedar.com or www.criusenergytrust.ca.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including (but not
limited to) statements about the Board's belief that the Bid may
represent a responsible investment of funds on hand. A statement is
forward-looking when it uses what Crius knows and expects today to make
a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements may include
words such as anticipate, assumption, believe, could, expect, goal,
guidance, intend, may, objective, outlook, plan, seek, should, strive,
target and will. These statements relate to future events or future
performance and reflect current assumptions, expectations and estimates
of management regarding growth, results of operations, performance,
business prospects and opportunities, Canadian economic environment and
liability to attract and retain customers. Such forward-looking
statements reflect current assumptions, expectations and estimates of
management and are based on information currently available to Crius as
at the date of this press release.
Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, and should not be read as guarantees of future
performance or results and actual results may differ materially from
the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include but
are not limited to, Crius Energy's objectives and status as a mutual
fund trust and not a SIFT trust, results of operations, financial
position or cash flows, customer revenues and margins, customer
additions and renewals, customer attrition, customer consumption
levels, general and administrative expenses, treatment under
governmental regulatory regimes, distributable cash and Crius Energy's
expectations and estimates regarding the payment of distributions to
unitholders. Such assumptions, expectations, estimates, risks and
uncertainties are discussed under "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking
Statements" in Crius Energy's Annual Information Form dated March 28,
2013. Consequently, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking
statements will materialize. Readers should not place any undue
reliance on such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Crius Energy Trust
