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RWE to Sell 36 Percent of American Water, Take Charge (Update2)
By Nicholas Comfort
April 23 (Bloomberg) — RWE AG, Germany's second-largest utility, said it will sell 36 percent of its U.S. unit, American Water Works Co., resulting in a maximum 600 million euro ($958 million) charge that will cause 2008 profit to be slightly below last year's level.
The utility will sell 58 million shares at $21.50 each to raise $1.2 billion, the company said in a statement on DBF newswire today. Trading will start April 23 on the New York stock exchange. For 2008, the company previously forecast profit growth of more than 10 percent.
Chief Executive Officer Juergen Grossmann said April 17 that RWE wanted to hold an initial public offering this month, in which a 40 percent stake in the U.S. unit would be sold. RWE will be able to make higher dividend payouts next year once it sells a majority of its American Water shares, he said at the time. In 2006, the company completed a 4.8 billion pound ($9.6 billion) sale of unit Thames Water to a group led by Macquarie Group Ltd. to focus on providing electricity and natural gas.
“The climate on the stock exchange for a defensive business model like that of American Water has improved somewhat,'' Grossmann said. “Providing capital market conditions stay favorable, we are committed to divesting the majority of our share in American water within the current year.''
RWE has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 8.7 million additional shares of common stock, American Water said in its own statement today. RWE spokeswoman Julia Scharlemann had said April 17 that the underwriting banks may buy as many as 9.6 million additional shares from RWE.
The U.S. division would offer 64 million common shares at a range of $24 to $26 each, according to a preliminary prospectus filed March 31 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

bloomberg.com

Without a flash in such bad conditions made getting good photos impossible,but I just set the ISO meter on auto and went at it! There isn’t much to tell, Icouldn’t even find a race report anywhere, but from what I saw myself, therewere no major breaks off the front. Emilia Fahlin took the win for High Road andagain the remarkable Rushlee Buchanan taking 2nd place. Anke Wichmann took 3rdplace on the day, after taking 2nd place yesterday, so good job for High Road.If there is one image I wanted to share, it has to be this one. Check out thewater coming off the wheels of High Road rider Emilia Fahlin! Emilia won, withRushlee Buchanan taking 2nd and Anke Wichmann coming in 3rd.
The Crown Jewel of our classics in my mind will always be the Merco CyclingClassic, formerly known as Mclane Pacific. The very first race held in Merced asthe forerunner to these events was won by me, before it evolved into Bud Lightand Mclane Pacific. It was a short course around Applegate park ran by then racepromoter Bill Goldfoos. The prize then was two sew ups, and future discounts atthe bike shop. Since that time, the race has evolved into a huge success.
When the race was changed from Mclane to Merco, it held it’s NRC status lastyear, but since new NRC rules required higher fees and a limited number ofriders, the promoters decided to not continue the NRC status since as a earlyseason race, it still drew a lot of riders to get in some early season racing.While Merco didn’t quite attract the class of riders and teams as it did lastyear, it was still a big hit, and High Road along with Tibco, Proman and othersstill made for a great race this year.
Merco Cycling Classic started out under strong headwinds and cloudy skies.However there was a festive mood in the air as barbecue stands sizzled with TriTip, and vendor stalls were all buzzing with activity. Pre race introductionsincluded call-ups of Mara Abbott and Kim Anderson. After the press took somephotos, the race got underway as the skies started to part. What started out aswindy and cloudy, gave way to sunshine and the wind vanished part way into therace.

dailypeloton.com

Are concerns about plastic enough for you to switch bottles?
Consumer concern about plastic bottles has made some retailers, like Mountain Equipment Co-op, pull them from their shelves.
The clear, hard plastic is made with a chemical, called Bisphenol A, that can leach out in very small amounts.
That chemical has been shown to mimic the human hormone estrogen.
Health Canada is currently examining whether the amount that leaches into liquids poses any risk.
What do you think?
If you share your story, a CBC journalist may contact you for more information or to see if you are willing to participate in a news story.
We won’t share your personal information with any outside organization. And, we won’t quote you without your permission.

cbc.ca

Twenty-two people were displaced by a Sunday fire in an unincorporated Long Grove apartment complex.
The fire apparently began in apartment 3E at 2228 Nichols Road heavily damaging the apartment and the common attic space. There was smoke damage to the third floor hallway and one adjoining apartment. There was also water damage to two other apartments in the 2:49 p.m. blaze. Officials estimate the loss from the blaze at $310,000.
One resident on oxygen had to be assisted but there were no injuries. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
The Long Grove Fire Department, Red Cross, and Cook County Sheriff’s Department found shelter for the 22 people. The building’s utilities were shut off because of the fire and must pass inspection before they can be turned back on, fire officials said.
Palatine, Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, all responded automatically, but as reports grew of the fire additional manpower and equipment came from Lake Zurich, Wheeling, Palatine, Prospect Heights, and Highwood. Off-duty Long Grove firefighters were also called in while Libertyville, Fox Lake and Lake Forest covered the Long Grove area for additional calls.

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