DQE Duquesne LT Hldgs

Shareholders to Receive $20 Per Share; Company Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH, May 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Duquesne Light Holdings (NYSE:DQE) and a consortium led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and The DUET Group today closed their merger agreement, originally announced on July 5, 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, the Macquarie consortium has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Duquesne Light Holdings for $20 per share in cash. Duquesne Light Holdings' headquarters will remain in Pittsburgh and the companies will maintain Duquesne Light's longstanding commitment to service, reliability and community involvement. "We view this transaction as a strong endorsement of Duquesne Light and our more than 125-year commitment to the Pittsburgh region," said Morgan K. O'Brien, president and chief executive officer of Duquesne Light. "In a consolidating electric utility industry, this partnership with the Macquarie consortium gives Duquesne Light the best opportunity to maintain our role as a committed, Pittsburgh-based public service provider and a longtime community partner. Our headquarters building, and logo, will remain on the city skyline and our familiar Duquesne Light trucks will continue to roll down the streets of local communities as we provide the region reliable, safe and efficient electric service. "I am excited about the opportunity that this merger presents for the Pittsburgh region," O'Brien added. "Macquarie is the global infrastructure leader with an outstanding track record of long-term investment in infrastructure assets in the U.S. and around the world. We are confident that our partnership with the Macquarie consortium will not only help ensure Duquesne Light's continued success, but also add to the ongoing success of our region." While Duquesne Light Holdings is now a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of the Macquarie consortium, it will continue to be subject to regulations of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. With the closing of the merger, trading of Duquesne Light Holdings common stock on the New York Stock Exchange will end today. Exchange of Duquesne Light Holdings Shareholder Certificates Duquesne Light Holdings shareholders will be contacted directly, via mail, by Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, the paying agent for the $20 per share merger consideration. -- A check will be mailed to the address of record of shareholders holding shares in the company's dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan, or whose shares are held electronically, in book entry. No further action is required by those shareholders. -- Shareholders who physically possess common stock certificates bearing the name Duquesne Light Holdings (or its predecessors, DQE, Inc. or Duquesne Light Company) will receive instructions from Wells Fargo on how to exchange those certificates for the merger consideration. Shareholders to Receive Special Pro Rata Dividend Shareholders of record as of May 30 also will receive a pro rata dividend of $0.2252745 per share. As announced on May 21, the Board of Directors of Duquesne Light Holdings declared a special pro rata dividend to ensure that shareholders continue to receive dividends at the current rate until the merger closing. In accordance with the merger agreement, the board declared a pro rata dividend of $0.00274725 per share, per day, from March 10, 2007, the date immediately following the prior Duquesne Light Holdings record date, until and including the day prior to the effective date of the merger. Shareholders will receive the cash proceeds from the pro rata dividend in a separate mailing from Wells Fargo Shareowner Services. About Duquesne Light Holdings Duquesne Light Holdings is comprised of an electric-utility company and affiliate companies that complement the core business. Duquesne Light Company, its principal subsidiary, is a leader in the transmission and distribution of electric energy, offering superior customer service and reliability to more than half a million customers in southwestern Pennsylvania. About the Macquarie Consortium The Macquarie Consortium is led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and The DUET Group. The Consortium also includes Industry Funds Management Pty Ltd, an Australian infrastructure investment fund, and other institutional investors. Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP), headquartered in New York, is managed by a member of the Macquarie group. MIP is a diversified unlisted fund focusing on infrastructure investments in North America. The fund's current investments include a majority equity stake in Aquarion Company, a regulated New England water utility operating in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, two Canadian port terminals and interests in four toll roads in the United States. The DUET Group (DUET), listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:DUE), is managed under a 50:50 joint venture between Macquarie Bank Limited and AMP Limited. DUET has majority ownership in some of Australia's key, regulated energy utility businesses. These include regional electricity (United Energy Distributors) and gas (Multinet) distribution businesses in the state of Victoria, as well as Western Australia's Dampier to Bunbury gas transmission pipeline, that state's key gas infrastructure asset. DUET also has a minority stake in Western Australia's largest gas distributor, AlintaGas Networks. For more information, visit http://www.duet.net.au/ . About Macquarie The Macquarie group is one of the world's largest owners and managers of infrastructure assets, managing over $44 billion of equity invested in infrastructure and essential service assets around the world through a range of listed and unlisted vehicles. Important community infrastructure investments managed by Macquarie include assets in the energy transmission and distribution, water, transportation, airport, social infrastructure and telecommunications sectors. Macquarie has significant experience managing numerous regulated energy and utility investments around the world. In the United States, Macquarie's energy and utility investments include: Aquarion Company, a New England water utility; The Gas Company, a Hawaiian full-service gas company; Thermal Chicago, district energy assets located in Chicago and Las Vegas; and Path 15, an upgrade of Southern California's electricity transmission grid, among others. DATASOURCE: Duquesne Light Holdings CONTACT: Media, Joseph Vallarian of Duquesne Light Holdings, +1-412-232-6848, or Alex Doughty of Macquarie, +1-212-231-1710, Financial Community, Darrin Duda, CFA of Duquesne Light Holdings, +1-412-393-1158 Web site: http://www.duet.net.au/

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