AEP River Operation sale completed

On 1 October, American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the US, reached an agreement with American Commercial Lines (ACL), a commercial inland barge company, to sell it AEP’s commercial barge subsidiary AEP River Operations.

The companies have now completed the sale and ACL has acquired AEP River Operations for approximately US$550 million, purchasing all of the stock of AEP Resources.

AEP netted approximately US$400 million in cash after taxes, debt retirement and transaction fees. The company will invest the proceeds in its regulated business.

AEP will keep ownership of its captive barge fleet that delivers coal to the company's regulated coal-fired power plants owned by Appalachian Power, Kentucky Power and Indiana Michigan Power.

AEP has signed a contract with ACL to dispatch and operate AEP's captive barge fleet through the end of 2016. The captive barge fleet delivers approximately 19 million short tpa of coal to AEP's regulated power plants. The fleet has 12 towboats, 498 barges and 229 employees.

Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/13112015/aep-river-operation-sale-completed-3149/