Dynegy Inc completed the US$1.88 billion sale of a US natural-gas pipeline to MidAmerican Energy Holdings, two days after the energy trader said a delay in the transaction might force it to seek bankruptcy protection.
MidAmerican, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, paid US$928 million in cash and assumed US$950 million in debt.
Dynegy said Wednesday that a delay in the sale of the 26,700km Northern Natural Gas interstate pipeline might force it to seek court protection from creditors. The US Federal Trade Commission approved the transaction, Dynegy said.
"It's a fire-sale price," said Jake Dollarhide, who helps manage less than US$100 million in assets at Fredric E. Russell Investment Management, including 198,000 shares of Dynegy rival Williams Cos. "It shows the overuse of debt can force companies to make decisions they wouldn't make in non-distressed circumstances."
Dynegy, whose shares have plunged 96 percent in the past year, is selling assets to raise cash and trim debt. Its chief executive resigned in May amid investigations into sham energy transactions and the company's accounting. The US energy-trading business collapsed following the demise of Enron Corp and a drop in electricity and natural-gas prices.
Shares of Houston-based Dynegy traded as high as US$2.49 in extended trading at 5:13pm New York time Friday. They rose US$0.39 to US$1.69 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock reached US$57.95 in May 2001 and touched US$0.49 on July 25. The announcement was made after the close of regular US trading.
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