Dive Brief:
- Hunt Consolidated is in talks to potentially acquire Oncor Electric Delivery Co., the company revealed this week in a Schedule 13-D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Through a real estate investment trust managed by Hunt, the company has indicated it is considering acquiring "all or substantially all of the equity interests" in the T&D utility, which is on the auction block due to the bankruptcy of parent company Energy Futures Holding Corp.
- Energy Future filed for Chapter 11 last year and is attempting to sell its 80% stake in Oncor, valued at about $18 billion, SNL reports.
Dive Insight:
In a June 8 filing with the SEC, investment trust InfraREIT said shareholder Hunt Consolidated was in talks to acquire Oncor, which has long been considered a potential suitor for the utility. The company said it is considering purchasing "all or substantially all of the equity interests in Oncor Electric Delivery."
The deal could take the form of a merger "or other transaction or series of transactions such that the combined company and its subsidiaries would ultimately own both the existing assets of InfraREIT and all or a substantial portion of the real property transmission and distribution assets of Oncor," the company said.
More than one bidder has come forward to consider buying Energy Future Holdings' stake in Oncor. Hunt was among a list of names, that also included CenterPoint Energy, NextEra Energy Inc. and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which were all exploring bids for the company.
Oncor was initially valued between $15 billion and $16 billion, but some estimate its value could approach $20 billion in a bidding war. The utility serves more than 3 million homes and has about $15 billion in annual earnings, making it the largest transmission and distribution utility in Texas.
