Filed by: NiSource Inc.
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
Subject Company: Columbia Energy Group
Registration Statement File No: 333-33896
On August 22, 2000, NiSource announced that Kenneth M. Margossian
will become executive vice president and chief operating officer of
its Bay State Gas and Northern Utilities subsidiaries upon completion
of NiSource's $6 billion merger with Columbia Energy Group. The text
of the press release is set forth below.
Text of Press Release
August 22, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Maria Hibbs Don DiNunno
NiSource Inc. Bay State Gas Company
219-647-6201 508-836-7376
NiSource Announces Post-Merger Leadership
Margossian to Lead Bay State Gas Company Operations
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (August 22, 2000) - NiSource Inc. has
announced that Kenneth M. Margossian will become executive vice
president and chief operating officer of its Bay State Gas and
Northern Utilities subsidiaries upon completion of NiSource's $6
billion merger with Columbia Energy Group, which is expected to close
by year-end.
Margossian, senior vice president, Operations, at the
Westborough, Mass.-based gas company will report to Robert Skaggs, who
was named president and chief executive officer for Bay State Gas
Company, Columbia Gas of Ohio and Columbia Gas of Kentucky. Skaggs
will report to Jeffrey Yundt, President of Energy Distribution for
NiSource.
"New England continues to be a key component of NiSource's
strategy to create a super-regional gas distribution powerhouse
throughout the Midwest and into the Northeast," said Gary L. Neale,
NiSource chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Ken Margossian is a proven leader," Yundt said. "His talents
will prove invaluable during this time of change in the industry and
our company. Ken is a great fit for this role."
Bay State Gas serves more than 250,000 customers in
Massachusetts. Northern Utilities serves more than 50,000 customers
in Maine and New Hampshire.
The new NiSource will serve more than 3.6 million gas and
electric customers primarily located in nine states. Its operations
will span the high-growth energy corridor that extends from the Gulf
of Mexico through Chicago to New England, creating the largest natural
gas distributor east of the Rockies, with wholesale and retail
electric operations.
The NiSource/Columbia merger is on target to close by the end of
2000, pending approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The combination was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission in July, following necessary state actions regarding the
companies' distribution companies in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire. The
transaction also recently cleared the waiting period under the Hart-
Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act at the U.S. Department of
Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Shareholders of both
companies approved the merger in June.
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is a holding company with headquarters
in Merrillville, Ind., whose primary business is the distribution of
electricity, natural gas and water in the Midwest and Northeastern
United States. The company also markets utility services and
customer-focused resource solutions along a corridor from Texas
through Chicago to Maine. More information about the company is
available on the Internet at www.nisource.com.
Columbia Energy Group (NYSE: CG), based in Herndon, Va., is one
of the nation's leading energy services companies. Its operating
companies engage in nearly all phases of the natural gas business,
including exploration and production, transmission, storage and
distribution, as well as propane and petroleum product sales and
electric power generation. More information about Columbia is
available on the Internet at www.columbiaenergygroup.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking
statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations discussed
herein include factors that are beyond the companies' ability to
control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market
conditions, the behavior of other market participants and the
actions of federal and state regulators.
Other factors include, but are not limited to, actions in the
financial markets, weather conditions, economic conditions in the
two companies' service territory, fluctuations in energy-related
commodity prices, conversion activity, other marketing efforts and
other uncertainties. These and other risk factors are detailed from
time to time in the two companies' SEC reports. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this release. The companies do not
undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of the document.
In addition to other documents filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission by the two companies, NiSource and the new holding
company have filed a registration statement, which contains a joint
proxy statement for NiSource and Columbia Energy Group. The final
joint proxy statement/prospectus, dated April 24, 2000, is available
and has been distributed to the companies' shareholders. Investment
and security holders are urged to read the joint proxy statement/
prospectus and other relevant documents filed with the SEC because
they contain important information. Investors and security holders
may receive the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents
free of charge at the SEC's Web site, www.sec.gov, from NiSource
Investor Relations at 801 East 86th Avenue, Merrillville, Indiana
46410 or at its Web site, www.nisource.com, or from Columbia
Investor Relations at 13880 Dulles Corner Lane, Herndon, Virginia
20171 or at its Web site, www.columbiaenergygroup.com.
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