Enron To Pass Argentina TGS Stake To Creditors - Source
04-27-04 06:24 PM EST
BUENOS AIRES -(Dow Jones)- In a continued shuffle of shareholders in leading Argentine natural gas transporter Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS), bankrupt U.S. energy company Enron Corp. (ENRNQ) will pass its remaining holdings in TGS to its creditors in exchange for the cancellation of a debt owed by TGS' controlling shareholder, a source close to the transaction said Tuesday.
The source, an official at fellow TGS shareholder Petrobras Energia (PECO.BA), confirmed a story first reported Tuesday by Argentine business daily El Cronista. TGS had said earlier this month that Enron subsidiaries will divest their collective 50% stake in TGS' holding company, CIESA, through a two-part process. After the transaction, Enron would still hold some common shares in TGS.
According to the Cronista report, the company plans to give those holdings to its creditors, who will be able to sell them immediately in Buenos Aires and New York secondary markets. At the same time, the creditors will cancel a debt CIESA owes of $220 million plus interest that has been in default since April 2002.
TGS officials said Tuesday they couldn't comment beyond their initial statement, and Enron spokesmen in the U.S. weren't immediately available for comment.
None of the parties involved have given timeframes for the transactions. Enron subsidiaries and Petrobras Energia Participaciones (PZE) subsidiaries - including Petrobras Energia - each own 50% of CIESA, which controls 53.3% of TGS. Enron and Petrobras Energia also each directly control 7.35% of TGS. The rest of TGS' shares float.
The Enron units are set to transfer their CIESA holdings to a still-unformed trust or special entity. At the same time, Enron will receive Petrobras Energia's 7.35% direct stake and another 4.3% of TGS' shares from CIESA, adding to the 7.35% Enron already owns. This means Enron's total holdings to be transferred to its creditors is 19%.
When the whole process is completed, Petrobras Energia Participaciones and the unnamed trust will each hold 50% of CIESA, whose stake in TGS will have dipped to 51%. The remaining 49% will float.
The transactions still need approval from the Argentine gas regulator and the bankruptcy court overseeing Enron's proceedings in the U.S.
-By Wailin Wong, Dow Jones Newswires; 5411-4311-3125; wailin.wong@dowjones.com
Dow Jones Newswires
04-27-04 1824ET
|
Thread abonnieren
