Milberg Weiss Files Class Action Suit Against NorthWestern Corporation.

Business Editors/Financial Analysts

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003

Milberg Weiss (http://www.milberg.com/cases/northwestern/) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota on behalf of purchasers of NorthWestern Corporation ("NorthWestern") (NYSE:NOR) publicly traded securities during the period between February 7, 2002 and March 31, 2003 (the "Class Period").

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 23, 2003. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiffs' counsel, William Lerach or Darren Robbins of Milberg Weiss at 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [e-mail]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.milberg.com/cases/northwestern/. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges NorthWestern and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Throughout the Class Period, defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements concerning the financial and operational condition of the Company. In fact, throughout the Class Period, while many of the Company's competitors were announcing revised guidance, NorthWestern consistently stated that the Company's proprietary business model was allowing NorthWestern to continue to achieve "improved performance" and earnings of between $2.30 to $2.55 per share by the end of 2002. Both prior to and throughout the Class Period, management of the Company consistently represented that its subsidiaries, including Expanets and Blue Dot, were achieving and would continue to achieve these results.

In fact, however, investors would ultimately learn at the close of the Class Period, which defendants had managed to conceal throughout the Class Period, that: (i) The Company's non-utility subsidiaries were not performing according to plan, with at least 20% of Blue Dot's locations performing so poorly that they would be sold or closed within the foreseeable future, and with Expanets running its reserves about $66 million short of its rapidly escalating delinquencies; (ii) defendants had artificially inflated the Company's balance sheet as well as its reported earnings and EPS figures, by failing to write down the impairment of, and take necessary reserves for, its failing Blue Dot and Expanets businesses, which impairments and reserve adjustments ultimately resulted in a massive $880 million charge; (iii) through a complicated scheme of questionable accounting and subsidiaries owned partially by senior management, losses at both Blue Dot and Expanets were subverted and reallocated to owners of minority interests or shareholders in the Company's subsidiary, which allowed the Company to keep these losses off its balance sheet, and to artificially inflate earnings and income and mask the poor performance of NorthWestern throughout the Class Period; and (iv) defendants had materially misstated the conditions of both Blue Dot and Expanets, which were not poised for nor experiencing "long-term growth" nor "value creation," but were rather in poor financial and operational condition, with at least 20% of Blue Dot's locations terminal and with an unknown amount of other locations also in poor condition, and with almost $302 million in charges and reserves required to be taken by Expanets, in addition to an approximate $289 million charge required for Blue Dot.

As a result of the foregoing, at no time during the Class Period did defendants have a good faith basis to project earnings anywhere near $2.55 per share for fiscal year 2002.

Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of NorthWestern publicly traded securities during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiffs are represented by Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, who has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Seattle and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Milberg Weiss has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of World War II and other human rights violations, and has been responsible for more than $30 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Milberg Weiss website (http://www.milberg.com) has more information about the firm.