Bear Stearns' Arroyo Unit Acquires Cedar Brakes I & II Subsidiaries

    Business Editors

    HOUSTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2005--Arroyo Energy Investors, LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The (NYSE:BSC) announced that it has closed the acquisition of 100% of the equity interests in El Paso Corporation's (NYSE:EP) Cedar Brakes I and II subsidiaries.
    Bear Stearns formed Arroyo Energy Investors, LP, to hold various principal energy investments made by its Houston Energy Group. To date, Arroyo has acquired approximately $2 billion of North American power generation and related assets.
    "In a brief period of time Bear Stearns, through Arroyo, has demonstrated a commitment to providing the energy industry with an efficient source of capital," said Warren Spector, president and co-chief operating officer of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. "Moving forward Arroyo will work to continue to identify and pursue appropriate investments in well structured energy assets."
    Founded in 1923, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) is the parent company of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm. With approximately $48.8 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales and trading, securities research, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers financing, securities lending, clearing and technology solutions to hedge funds, broker-dealers and investment advisors. Headquartered in New York City, the company has approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit the firm's website at http://www.bearstearns.com.

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CONTACT: Russell Sherman (212) 272-5219 RussellSherman@Bear.com

KEYWORD: TEXAS NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING MERGERS/ACQ SOURCE: Bear Stearns Companies Inc.

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