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Enron Mail |
USA: Enron offers to take Azurix private at $7/share.
10/27/2000 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2000. HOUSTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Wholesale energy marketer Enron Corp. said on Friday it had made a proposal to the board of its troubled water services affiliate Azurix Corp. to provide up to $275 million in financing to take Azurix private at a buyout price of $7 per share. "The proposed cash buyout allows Azurix public shareholders to receive a significant premium to the market price of Azurix. Enron believes the value offered also would be greater than any sale to a third party," Enron said in a statement. The specific structure of the proposal has yet to be determined, it added. Enron said it expected the proposal to have a neutral impact on its own earnings and credit outlook. Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Enron Makes Proposal To Azurix Board To Finance $7/Share Buyout 10/27/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- Enron Corp. (ENE) made a proposal to provide funding to take Azurix Corp. (AZX) private at a buy-out price of $7 a share. In a press release Friday, Enron proposed to finance up to $275 million for the sole purpose of the buyout. The specific structure of the proposal hasn't been determined yet. Enron owns about two-thirds of the company. Azurix shares were halted at $3.94, up 38 cents or 10.5%, on New York Stock Exchange composite volume of 111,500 shares. Average daily volume is 239,044 shares. In a separate press release Friday, Azurix confirmed it received a proposal from Enron to provide funding to take Azurix private at a buyout price of $7 a share. Enron, an electricity, natural gas and communications company, said the proposal would likely have a neutral impact on its own positive earnings and credit outlook. Enron said the proposed cash buyout allows Azurix shareholders to receive a "significant" premium to the market price of Azurix. Enron's shares were recently trading at $77.94, up 44 cents, or 0.6%, on New York Stock Exchange volume of 948,100 shares. Average daily volume is 2.4 million shares. Enron said it believes the value offered would be greater than any sale to a third party. Enron said the proposed buyout provides other benefits to Azurix, including a "significant" near-term reduction in Azurix's general and administrative expenses, greater certainty to Azurix's customers and employees and increased flexibility for restructuring Azurix's assets and business. At June 30, Azurix had general and administartive expenses of $71.3 million. Enron reported $60 billion in revenue for the first nine months of this year. As reported in July, Azurix announced it was exploring strategic alternatives. German utility E.On AG (EON) was considering a bid for all or part of Azurix, according to a British newspaper. Azuirx, which manages water and wastewater assets, reported fiscal 1999 revenue of $618 million. The company is currently the target of several shareholder lawsuits and a fight over water rights in California. -Stephen Lee; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400 Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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