ALLENTOWN, Pa.--- PPL Global, Inc., the development and international operating subsidiary of PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), announced Wednesday (6/21) that it has finalized the acquisition of an 84.7 percent interest in Companhia Energitica do Maranhco (CEMAR), an electricity distribution company in Brazil.

The acquisition, announced a week ago, 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. PPL Global acquired the interest in CEMAR from the State of Maranhco, the Brazilian development bank BNDESPAR, and Eletrobras, a Brazilian generation company.

PPL Global already is a highly successful operator of electricity distribution assets in Latin America. The acquisition brings 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, PPL serves more than 3 million electricity distribution customers in Latin America and the United Kingdom.