LIBERTY, Mo., April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP), one of the nation's largest and fastest growing retail marketers of propane, announced today that the 30-day waiting period under the Hart- Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act expired March 29, 2004, without further action by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

As previously announced on February 9, 2004, Ferrellgas will acquire substantially all of the assets of Blue Rhino Corporation (Nasdaq: RINO) from a subsidiary of Ferrell Companies, Inc., the parent company of its general partner, which has entered into a merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Blue Rhino in an all-cash transaction. Terms of the merger agreement call for the payment of $17 in cash for each share of Blue Rhino stock outstanding on the date of the closing of the transaction, with the total payments for the Blue Rhino equity anticipated to be approximately $340 million.

The merger agreement remains subject to Blue Rhino shareholder approval. A Blue Rhino shareholder meeting will be held April 20, 2004, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Officials from both Ferrellgas and Blue Rhino, who originally anticipated the transaction to be completed in May or June, now anticipate the transaction to close by the end of April.

"We are pleased to have cleared this important hurdle, and we look forward to closing this transaction sooner than first anticipated," said Ken Heinz, Ferrellgas' Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. "We remain convinced that combining the financial strengths and propane expertise of both companies make this the perfect fit."

About Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.: Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., through its operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P., serves more than one million customers in 45 states. Ferrellgas employees indirectly own more than 17 million common units of Ferrellgas Partners through an employee stock ownership plan. Ferrellgas Partners' common units trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FGP.

About Blue Rhino Corporation: Blue Rhino is a leading national provider of branded propane tank exchange service and a leading provider of complementary products and services to consumers through many of the world's leading retailers. The company's branded tank exchange service is offered at more than 29,000 retail locations in 49 states and Puerto Rico through leading home improvement centers, mass merchants, hardware, grocery and convenience stores. Propane tank exchange provides consumers with a safe and convenient alternative to traditional propane tank filling.

Statements in this release concerning expectations for the future are forward-looking statements. A variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause results, performance and expectations to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or expectations. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in Ferrellgas Partners' Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2003, and other documents filed from time to time, by Ferrellgas Partners, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: Ryan VanWinkle, Investor Relations, 816-792-7998

Scott Brockelmeyer, Media Relations, 816-792-7837

SOURCE Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.