Exhibit 99.1
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| NorthWestern Corporation |
| d/b/a NorthWestern Energy | |
| 125 S. Dakota Ave. | |
| Sioux Falls, SD 57104 | |
| www.northwesternenergy.com | |
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News Release |
| NASDAQ: NWEC |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Media Relations Contact: | Investor Relations Contact: | |
Claudia Rapkoch | Dan Rausch | |
(406) 497-2841 | (605) 978-2902 | |
claudia.rapkoch@northwestern.com | daniel.rausch@northwestern.com | |
NORTHWESTERN UPDATES STOCKHOLDERS ON
REVIEW OF STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Feb. 7, 2006 - The Board of Directors of NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (NASDAQ: NWEC) today provided an update to its stockholders regarding its ongoing review of strategic alternatives.
As previously announced on Dec. 6, 2005, the Board directed management and its financial advisor Credit Suisse to commence an evaluation of all strategic alternatives to maximize value for all stockholders. In connection with this review, NorthWestern has entered into confidentiality agreements with a select number of parties who have expressed an interest in participating in the process. Under the terms of the confidentiality agreements, the identities of these parties will not be disclosed. The Company expects formal due diligence to commence as early as this week.
The Board said that it is gratified by the quality of the expressions of interest received thus far and that such interest demonstrates that the strategic review process is the best means of maximizing stockholder value.
At this time, the Board has not decided to pursue any specific strategic alternative. It is expected that the Board will make its determination following completion of due diligence and confirmation of interest by parties, which may take several weeks. The Board has informed all interested parties that it may terminate the process at any time and that there is no guarantee that any transaction will take place.
About NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving more than 617,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More information on NorthWestern Energy is available on the Company’s Web site at www.northwesternenergy.com.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD—LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” or “will.” These
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statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual future business and financial performance may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to:
• our ability to maintain normal terms with vendors and service providers;
• our ability to fund and execute our business plan;
• our ability to avoid or mitigate adverse rulings or judgments against us in our pending litigation arising from our bankruptcy proceeding, litigation related to our acquisition of the electric and natural gas transmission and distribution business formerly held by The Montana Power Company, and the formal investigation being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
• unscheduled generation outages, maintenance or repairs which may reduce revenues and increase cost of sales or may require additional capital expenditures or other increased operating costs;
• unanticipated changes in availability of trade credit, usage, commodity prices, fuel supply costs or availability due to higher demand, shortages, weather conditions, transportation problems or other developments, may reduce revenues or may increase operating costs, each of which would adversely affect our liquidity;
• adverse changes in general economic and competitive conditions in our service territories; and
• potential additional adverse federal, state, or local legislation or regulation or adverse determinations by regulators could have a material adverse affect on our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, recent and forthcoming Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K and other SEC filings discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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