Atmos Energy Corporation Completes Successful Common Stock Offering.

DALLAS -- Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) said that it has completed the sale of 16.1 million shares of common stock from a public offering, priced at $24.75, that raised approximately $382.5 million in net proceeds before other offering expenses.

Atmos Energy said it will use the net proceeds from the equity offering to repay the remainder of its outstanding short-term debt incurred to purchase the natural gas distribution and pipeline operations of TXU Gas Company, which closed on Oct. 1, 2004, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

"We are very pleased by the strong response to this equity offering and believe that it reflects the market's continued support for our acquisition of the TXU Gas operations," said Robert W. Best, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Atmos Energy Corporation. "This acquisition added about 1.5 million natural gas customers to our system and should be accretive immediately to our earnings as well as improve our prospects for both market growth and long-term financial growth," Best said.

Atmos Energy's number of common shares outstanding after the sale is approximately 79.0 million.

Forward-Looking Statements

The matters discussed in this news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking statements made in good faith by the Company and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in this news release, including the successful integration of the Company's acquisition of the operations of TXU Gas and its other acquisitions, the Company's ability to continue to access the capital markets and the other factors discussed in the Company's SEC filings. These factors include the risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004. Although the Company believes these forward-looking statements to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will approximate actual experience or that the expectations derived from them will be realized. We undertake no obligation to update or revise our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Atmos Energy Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, is the country's largest natural gas-only distributor, serving more than 3.1 million gas utility customers. Atmos Energy's utility operations serve more than 1,500 communities in 12 states from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. Atmos Energy's nonutility operations, organized under Atmos Energy Holdings, Inc., operate in 18 states. They provide natural gas marketing and procurement services to industrial, commercial and municipal customers and manage company-owned natural gas storage and pipeline assets, including one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas. For more information, visit atmosenergy.com.