Followers | 241 |
Posts | 12151 |
Boards Moderated | 3 |
Alias Born | 04/05/2009 |
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 2:49:18 AM
By James Osborne
Energy Future Holdings’ plan to get out of bankruptcy court next year was struck another blow Monday when a federal bankruptcy judge further delayed the auction of its power transmission arm Oncor.
The Dallas-based power company must now negotiate with creditor committees as to the timing and rules of the auction. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi did not set a time line, but the ruling could potentially delay the auction a couple months.
EFH filed for bankruptcy in April, seeking protection from $40 billion in debt largely amassed during a 2007 leveraged buyout led by private equity firms KKR & Co. and TPG. With agreements in place with a number of creditors, EFH executives had hoped for a quick, 11-month trip through bankruptcy court that would end with Energy Future’s generation, retail and transmission subsidiaries being split up between creditors.
But the sale of Oncor, which boasted a $335 million profit last year, has proved a contentious issue with creditors who would see little return under EFH’s restructuring plan.
Sontchi stopped short of ordering EFH to come up with a new reorganization plan, as some creditors had argued for.
“There is nowhere near a sufficient record to strike down” the proposed reorganization plan, he said.
But Sontchi did admonish EFH for efforts attempting to change the bidding procedure, which the judge called, “frankly offensive.” And he ordered a longer time line to allow parties so far left out of the auction process to come up to speed.
“It’s half a loaf,” said attorney Ed Weisfelner, who is representing one of the creditors groups challenging EFH. “This does portend a lot of potential challenges for the debtors on moving forward on their very myopic game plan. But they’re still being given some deference by the court.”
A spokesman for EFH declined to comment on the ruling.
Oncor, as a regulated business, has avoided the steep declines felt by much of the Texas power sector in recent years.
Under a deal cut in the run-up to bankruptcy in April, the company was supposed to be taken over by a creditors’ group in league with Hunt Consolidated and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
But Florida-based power company NextEra Energy, which already owns power plants and power retailer Gexa Energy in Texas, upset that deal with its own bid. In court last month Energy Future chief financial officer Paul Keglevic put the value of that bid at $18 billion.
In August, EFH decided to open bidding up to the public with the possibility of extracting an even higher bid. According to sources, CenterPoint Energy in Houston and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, along with Hunt and NextEra, have also signed up to review confidential financial information on Oncor.
“We will continue to watch the process closely over the next several weeks and months,” Jeanne Phillips, senior vice president at Hunt, said in a statement.
The first round of bidding was originally scheduled to close Oct. 23 with the final auction to take place in February.
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/69933.html/
"Someone said it takes 30 years to be an instant success" - Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, CEO of Harwood International
Recent VST News
- TXU Energy Announces Recipients of 2024 Energy Leadership Awards • PR Newswire (US) • 09/19/2024 02:26:00 PM
- Vistra to Acquire Equity Interests of Vistra Vision LLC from Minority Investors • PR Newswire (US) • 09/18/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Vistra Partners With Sunrun on Residential Battery Aggregation Program • PR Newswire (US) • 09/11/2024 02:00:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/15/2024 08:36:58 PM
- Form 144 - Report of proposed sale of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/13/2024 08:07:38 PM
- TXU Energy and Ford Team Up to Offer Daily Free Home Charging Hours • PR Newswire (US) • 08/12/2024 12:51:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/08/2024 11:13:01 AM
- Vistra Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results • PR Newswire (US) • 08/08/2024 11:00:00 AM
- U.S. Index Futures Drop, Signaling Ongoing Market Volatility; Oil Prices Stall • IH Market News • 08/08/2024 09:55:44 AM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/05/2024 11:18:52 PM
- Vistra Declares Dividend on Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock • PR Newswire (US) • 07/31/2024 10:30:00 PM
- Vistra Publishes 2023 Sustainability Report Highlighting Accelerated Portfolio Transformation & Responsible Decarbonization • PR Newswire (US) • 07/31/2024 05:45:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/31/2024 10:07:00 AM
- Vistra Receives Approval to Operate Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant Through 2053 • PR Newswire (US) • 07/30/2024 08:11:00 PM
- Homefield Energy Contracts with U.S. General Services Administration to Advance Sustainability Goals • PR Newswire (US) • 07/30/2024 02:00:00 PM
- Vistra to Report Second Quarter Results on Aug. 8, 2024 • PR Newswire (US) • 07/16/2024 08:30:00 PM
- Vistra Pledges $1 Million to Aid Customers and Communities Impacted by Hurricane Beryl • PR Newswire (US) • 07/15/2024 03:11:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/12/2024 08:06:29 PM
- BP Slashes Profit Forecast by $700 Million; Morgan Stanley Predicts S&P 500 10% Drop, and More News • IH Market News • 07/09/2024 10:54:32 AM
- Vistra Announces Plans to Add Up to 2,000 MW of Gas-Fueled Dispatchable Power in ERCOT • PR Newswire (US) • 05/30/2024 08:00:00 PM
- TXU Energy Announces Recipients of 2024 Energy Leadership Awards • PR Newswire (US) • 05/22/2024 07:00:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/17/2024 09:37:28 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/17/2024 09:35:54 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/17/2024 09:29:44 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/08/2024 11:01:00 AM
VHAI - Vocodia Partners with Leading Political Super PACs to Revolutionize Fundraising Efforts • VHAI • Sep 19, 2024 11:48 AM
Dear Cashmere Group Holding Co. AKA Swifty Global Signs Binding Letter of Intent to be Acquired by Signing Day Sports • DRCR • Sep 19, 2024 10:26 AM
HealthLynked Launches Virtual Urgent Care Through Partnership with Lyric Health. • HLYK • Sep 19, 2024 8:00 AM
Element79 Gold Corp. Appoints Kevin Arias as Advisor to the Board of Directors, Strengthening Strategic Leadership • ELMGF • Sep 18, 2024 10:29 AM
Mawson Finland Limited Further Expands the Known Mineralized Zones at Rajapalot: Palokas step-out drills 7 metres @ 9.1 g/t gold & 706 ppm cobalt • MFL • Sep 17, 2024 9:02 AM
PickleJar Announces Integration With OptCulture to Deliver Holistic Fan Experiences at Venue Point of Sale • PKLE • Sep 17, 2024 8:00 AM