Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAM)

[Investorman]

Brookfield Asset Management to Acquire Hydroelectric Facility in Brazil
Friday December 21, 2:49 pm ET


Generating capacity to increase by over 50%


TORONTO, ONTARIO and RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL--(MARKET WIRE)--Dec 21, 2007 -- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Toronto:BAM.TO - News)(NYSE:BAM - News) announced today that it has agreed to acquire 99.22% of the common shares and 100% of the Series C preferred shares in Itiquira Energetica S.A., from NRG Energy Inc. for US$288 million. The purchase is being made through Brookfield's wholly-owned subsidiary Brookfield Power.
Itiquira Energetica owns a 156 MW hydroelectric generating facility in Brazil. Located on the Itiquira River in Mato Grosso State, this facility significantly increases Brookfield's renewable energy footprint in Brazil ( from 295 MW to 451 MW. All the power produced by the facility is sold under a long-term contract expiring in 2014.

"The addition of the Itiquira facility to our renewable power portfolio is truly a noteworthy event for our operations in Brazil," commented Richard Legault, Managing Partner of Brookfield Asset Management and Co-CEO of Brookfield Power. "In addition to building on our 100-plus years of successfully owning and operating hydroelectric facilities in Brazil, the Itiquira facility also expands our operating presence in Mato Grosso State, where we will own and operate three hydroelectric facilities with a generating capacity of almost 200 MW."

With the Itiquira facility, Brookfield's power operations in Brazil will have an operating portfolio of 28 hydroelectric generating stations, mainly in the South, Southeast and Midwest regions of the country. The company has another six hydroelectric facilities under construction totaling almost 150 MW and a pipeline of hydroelectric development opportunities of over 700 MW.

The transaction completion is subject to receipt of regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

A Fact Sheet is available in the News section of the Brookfield Asset Management website (www.brookfield.com) or by clicking on (http://www.brookfield.com/newsroom/pressreleases/r2007/r2007-12-21.asp).