Hostile

Columbia Energy Group revealed yesterday that its defenseagainst a hostile takeover by NiSource has become quite costly,reaching $9 million in pre-tax expenses during the third quarter.The company also took a $4 million pre-tax charge during the thirdquarter for restructuring its retail marketing operation. The twosetbacks combined led to a net loss of $9.7 million (12 cents pershare) during the quarter compared to net income of $11.2 million(13 cents per share) during the same period last year. The companyreported income from continuing operations of $800,000, or 1 centper share, compared to $12.2 million, or 14 cents/share in 3Q98.