PPI Inc. acquires Pennsylvania electrical contracting company

<%=company1%> Inc. (PPI), a non-regulated business unit of The United Illuminating Company (UI; New Haven, CT) and a leading provider of specialty electrical and voice-data-video design/build, contracting, and services, has acquired The Orlando Diefenderfer Company, a $48 million full-service electrical contracting company, based in Allentown, PA. Purchase of Diefenderfer is expected to add $48 million annually to PPI's revenues and will be immediately accretive to UI's 2000 earnings. Under the sales agreement, Diefenderfer will retain its name and current management.

This acquisition, one of a series of purchases in PPI's overall strategic plan, follows the company's recent purchase of The Datastore (Maple Shade, NJ), a $25 million systems integrator in May, and Allan Electric Co. (Totowa, NJ), a $35 million full-service electrical construction company in July of 1999.

Diefenderfer provides electrical, telecommunications systems and mechanical contracting services to some of the Lehigh Valley's leading companies. Services include commercial and industrial electrical construction; telecommunications systems design and installation; and mechanical systems design, installation, and maintenance. The company, which maintains regional offices in Allentown, Easton, and Philadelphia, PA, has been in business for more than 80 years.

Headquartered in Hamden, CT, PPI provides tailored electrical construction and voice-data-video services to customers in New England and the neighboring Mid-Atlantic region.

Edited by John Spofford