SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (date of
earliest event reported): May 6, 1999
Commission Registrant, State of Incorporation, I.R.S. Employer
File Number Address and Telephone Number Identification No.
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1-6047 GPU, Inc. 13-5516989
(a Pennsylvania corporation)
300 Madison Avenue
Morristown, New Jersey 07962-1911
Telephone (973) 455-8200
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
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On May 6, 1999, GPU announced that it had been named the successful bidder
for Transmission Pipelines Australia ("TPA"), a natural gas transmission
business being offered for sale by the State of Victoria, Australia as part of
its energy privitization program. GPU submitted a bid of $675 million (AU$1.025
billion) for TPA. The sale is expected to be completed in June 1999.
The TPA system encompasses 1,105 miles of pipeline, and consists of two
separate networks serving approximately 1.3 million residential customers and
about 40,000 industrial and commercial customers throughout Victoria.
A copy of GPU's related news release is annexed as an exhibit.
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ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS.
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(c) Exhibit
1. GPU News Release, dated May 6, 1999.
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SIGNATURE
PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, THE
REGISTRANT HAS DULY CAUSED THIS REPORT TO BE SIGNED ON ITS BEHALF BY THE
UNDERSIGNED THEREUNTO DULY AUTHORIZED.
GPU, INC.
By: /s/ T. G. Howson
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T. G. Howson, Vice President
and Treasurer
Date: May 12, 1999
EXHIBIT TO BE FILED BY EDGAR
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(c) 1 GPU News Release, dated May 6, 1999.
Exhibit (c) 1
GPU News Release
May 6, 1999
GPU Inc. Acquires Australian Gas Transmission Operation
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - May 6, 1999 - GPU, Inc. today was named the successful
bidder for Transmissions Pipelines Australia (TPA), a natural gas transmission
business offered for sale by the Government of Victoria, Australia.
GPU submitted a bid of US $675 million (AU$1.025 billion) for TPA, which
was sold as a result of Victoria's natural gas industry privatization.
"The acquisition of TPA delivers on our plan to build our business and
grow in new areas of utility operations," said Fred D. Hafer, chairman,
president and chief executive officer of GPU, Inc. "This purchase represents our
first major investment in a gas transmission company and provides a strategic
addition to our existing Australian electric transmission operation."
TPA encompasses 1,105 miles of pipeline and consists of two separate
networks, the Principal System and the Western System. Both Systems supply all
of the natural gas consumed in Victoria and in the State's capital of Melbourne.
The Western System also serves the western region of the State of Victoria.
TPA's gas transmission network serves approximately 1.3 million residential
consumers and about 40,000 industrial and commercial customers throughout
Victoria.
In November 1997, GPU purchased PowerNet from the State of Victoria. GPU
PowerNet owns and operates the electrical transmission system and serves all of
Victoria covering an area of approximately 87,900 square miles with a population
of approximately 4.5 million people.
GPU expects to close the transaction next month.
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GPU, Inc., headquartered in Morristown, N.J. is a registered utility
holding company. GPU International develops, owns and operates transmission and
distribution facilities overseas and generating plants both here and abroad.
GPU's three domestic operating utility subsidiaries -- Jersey Central Power and
Light Company, Metropolitan Edison Company and Pennsylvania Electric Company --
do business under the trade name of GPU Energy, and serve approximately two
million customers in a service area encompassing about half the land areas of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania. GPU's other subsidiaries include: GPU Advanced
Resources, Inc.; GPU Generation, Inc.; GPU Nuclear, Inc.; GPU Service, Inc.; and
GPU Telcom Services, Inc.
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Contact:
GPU, Inc., Morristown, N.J.
Elaine Davis, 973- 455-8418
(http://www.gpu.com)
