Inergy Receives “Impact Award” From National Association of Small Business Investment Companies

Inergy, L.P. announced that The National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC) has named Inergy a recipient of its 50th Anniversary “Impact Awards.” Inergy is being honored at a luncheon presentation today during the NASBIC’s 50th Annual Meeting & Private Equity Conference.

Inergy – along with Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor company, and Quiznos, a national franchise company with over 5,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada – was chosen for the award from the more than 102,000 small U.S. companies that have received funding through The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, which was created by an act of Congress in 1958. The unique public/private partnership has provided approximately $52 billion in financing to small businesses since its inception.

In announcing the award, NASBIC Chairman Stephen J. Vivian, of Chicago-based Prism Capital, cited the companies for their “unique and outstanding products and services, and as forces for innovation and job creation in the American economy. They exemplify the best in American business, and their leadership has shown how continuous dedication to their markets and their employees can translate into satisfied customers, strong job growth, and sustained financial success.”

“We are extremely pleased to receive this award today,” said John Sherman, President and CEO of Inergy. “In our early days at Inergy, access to capital was very important to the success of our venture. But the financial and capital markets expertise provided by the SBICs we worked with was at least as valuable as the capital itself. The early support from our SBIC investors helped us engineer a series of crucial acquisitions, complete a successful initial public offering in 2001, and conclude two more acquisitions that doubled the company’s size.”

NASBIC is the professional association for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) industry and the oldest organization of venture capitalists in the world. SBICs are privately organized and managed venture capital firms licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to make equity capital or long-term loans available to small companies.

Inergy, L.P., with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., is among the fastest growing master limited partnerships in the country. The company’s operations include the retail marketing, sale, and distribution of propane to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers. Today, Inergy serves approximately 700,000 retail customers from over 300 customer service centers throughout the eastern half of the United States. The company also operates a natural gas storage business and a supply logistics, transportation, and wholesale marketing business that serves independent dealers and multi-state marketers in the United States and Canada.

Corporate news, unit prices, and additional information about Inergy, including reports from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, are available on the company’s website, www.inergypropane.com. For more information, contact Mike Campbell in Inergy’s Investor Relations Department at 816-842-8181 or via e-mail at investorrelations@inergyservices.com.