Dive Brief:
- Bidding has opened for Energy Future Holdings Corp.'s stake in Oncor, the Texas transmission company that is now the object of a bankruptcy-fueled bidding war.
- Energy Future filed bidding rules last week in its Chapter 11 case with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
- Bidding will occur in multiple rounds, with the first bids to create a lead bidder due October 23. Refined, second-round offers are due in November.
Dive Insight:
Energy Future Holdings has outlined in court documents a plan for auctioning off Oncor as part of its bankruptcy proceeding, with the first round of bidding now open to help set a floor price on the company. Court documents reveal Energy Future Holdings will divide itself up in Chapter 11 and spin its Texas Competitive Electric division off into its own company. The corporation agreed to put its stake in Oncor up for sale as part of the company's bankruptcy proceeding.
The Wall Street Journal reports Energy Future Holdings is using the bidding interest to help restructure $42 billion in debt. NextEra Energy and Hunt Consolidated are both bidding on Oncor. Energy Future Holdings owns an 80% stake in the Texas utility, which serves about 10 million customers in the state.
Proposed bidding rules will need to be approved by the bankruptcy court; a hearing has been scheduled for October 17, the Journal reports.
