Excelergy, a software solutions company that is currentlyinvolved in projects with Altra, Southern California Gas Co. andEastern Enterprises, announced yesterday that it plans to gopublic. The Boston-based company filed its registration statementwith the SEC last week. All of the company’s shares are beingtendered for sale, Excelergy said. It intends to use the netproceeds for general corporate purposes including working capitaland potential acquisitions. The company specializes in billing andcustomer information software applications. Current products on themarket include the ABP 3000 customer relationship management andbilling software, the eXACT family of business-to-businesstransaction management solutions and the e-Choice NetInternet-based consumer choice solution. When available, copies ofthe preliminary prospectus may be obtained by the IPO’sunderwriter, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

Despite being challenged to access adequate supplies to satisfythe expected demand growth in the U.S., the international creditratings agency Fitch ICBA said the near-term and long-term outlookfor major independent oil and gas producers are both optimistic.Fitch based its prognosis on a report, published yesterday, called”North American Independent Oil and Gas Producers.” The agency saidstrong commodity prices plus management directives aimed at cuttingcosts have positioned the producing sector to rebound from the poorfinancial performance of 1998 and early 1999. In the long-term, theagency said that despite the technological and financial hardshipsof discovering new supply, the outlook is optimistic thanks toM&A activity, which has provided operations-of-scale for manycompanies, and a positive demand forecast.

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