Fort Chicago Energy Partners Trust converting to corporate structure

By The Canadian Press

CALGARY - Chicago Energy Partners L.P. (TSX: FCE-UN.TO) announced Wednesday it plans to restructure from a limited partnership into a taxable Canadian corporation by the fourth quarter of next year.

The Calgary-based owner and operator of energy infrastructure assets across North America said the move is being made prior to implementation of Ottawa's specified investment flow-through tax on Jan. 1, 2011.

Under the restructuring, holders of class A limited partnership units will be able to exchange units for shares of the new corporation on a tax-deferred basis under Canadian income tax law, the company said.

Chicago Energy said further details of the restructuring will be provided next year, with a special meeting of unitholders to approve the transaction expected to be held in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Meanwhile, the company says its board has determined there will be no change in the distribution policy of Fort Chicago through 2010. Following the restructuring, the current distribution of $1 a year will be maintained in the form of a dividend, the company said.

"We are confident that our long-life, high-quality assets provide Fort Chicago with a strong foundation to support distributions to our unitholders at present levels for the foreseeable future," president and chief executive Stephen White said in a statement.

The board declared a cash distribution for November of 8.33 cents per class A unit of Fort Chicago. The distribution will be paid Dec. 23 to unitholders of record at the close of business Nov. 30.

Fort Chicago units were up 14 cents at $8.93 on volume of more than 475,000 shares in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.