ALLENTOWN, Pa.-- PPL Global, Inc., the development and international operating subsidiary of PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), has won an international tender to purchase an 84.7 percent interest in Companhia Energitica do Maranhco (CEMAR), an electricity distribution company in Brazil.

The agreement, announced Thursday (6/15), is part of PPL's integrated strategy to acquire and operate high-growth electricity delivery businesses in Latin America and select regions around the world.

CEMAR serves about 977,000 customers in the northeast Brazilian state of Maranhco. The company has about 2,000 employees, and sold about 2,293 gigawatt-hours of electricity during 1999.

The acquisition price was about R$523 million, equivalent to about US$289 million based on current exchange rates. That price is one of the lowest prices ever paid for a distribution company in Brazil on a dollars-per-customer basis. PPL Global is acquiring the interest in CEMAR from the State of Maranhco, the Brazilian development bank BNDESPAR, and Eletrobras, a Brazilian generation company.

"This company provides a tremendous opportunity to use PPL Global's existing management team and skills in Latin America to develop an expanding business in a growing market," said William F. Hecht, chairman, president and chief executive officer of PPL Corp. "This acquisition is consistent with PPL's strategy to make price-disciplined investments that attain the appropriate scale in a target market," he said.

CEMAR is undergoing significant growth because, at the present time, only 70 percent of the State of Maranhco has electricity service, and demand is increasing. Electricity consumption in the CEMAR service area grew at an average annual compound rate of 7.5 percent from 1985 through 1999, with attractive growth expected to continue during the next decade.

"Brazil is the largest electricity market in Latin America and its economy is growing steadily," said Hecht. "The northeast region's above-average economic growth makes CEMAR a strong platform for PPL's entrance into the Brazilian market."

The Brazilian economy's positive upswing is assisted by the stabilization of foreign exchange rates and the recent passage of fiscal reform legislation, Hecht said.

Economic growth in the northeast region of Brazil is outpacing the national average. This growth is spurred by the region's diversifying economy, which includes agriculture, raw materials and finished goods manufacturing. Home of the deepest port in Brazil, the State of Maranhco has an established transportation infrastructure to export its goods to market, Hecht said.

"In view of its significant natural resources, diversified industrial base and modern logistics infrastructure, the State of Maranhco should continue to benefit from the steady improvement in the Brazilian macro-economic scenario and further stabilization of the country's currency environment," said Vittorio Perona of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, which advised PPL Global in this transaction.

PPL Global identified CEMAR as a potential acquisition after careful research and analysis, and has completed extensive evaluation of the company and economic climate of Brazil, and in particular, the country's northeast region. Based on this analysis, PPL Global has identified and assembled an experienced transition team from the company's Latin American headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The transition team, with members from PPL Global's existing successful electricity delivery operations in El Salvador, Bolivia and Chile, will apply operations and management skills to improve efficiency and financial performance at CEMAR, according to Hecht.

PPL Global already is a highly successful operator of electricity distribution assets in Latin America. The company's Bolivian affiliate was rated in a recent survey as having the best financial performance, the highest customer satisfaction and the highest employee satisfaction of any public service company in Bolivia. And, PPL Global's Chilean operating company has posted significant improvements in customer satisfaction while meeting financial targets.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings beginning in 2002. It will be financed initially with short-term debt. Over the longer term, plans are to finance the transaction with a combination of long-term debt and convertible securities. The transaction is expected to close in about one week.

The acquisition will bring PPL Global's total investments or commitments to $2.5 billion, including investments and commitments of about $971 million in Latin America. With the addition of CEMAR's 977,000 customers, PPL will serve more than 3 million electricity distribution customers in Latin America and the United Kingdom.

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings, electricity demand and economic growth, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather variations affecting customer energy usage; competition in retail and wholesale power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the profitability and liquidity of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; environmental conditions and requirements; system conditions and operating costs; performance of new ventures; political, regulatory or economic conditions in countries where PPL Corp. or its subsidiaries conduct business; capital market conditions; share price performance; foreign exchange rates; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corp.'s Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.