Enron Puts Top Assets Up for Sale; Move Could Mean Company’s End

Enron Corp. put the bulk of its top assets up for sale Tuesday in a move that, if successful, would rule out its resurrection as a stripped-down power and pipeline company.

Enron sources acknowledged that the sale of 12 major assets--which include Oregon-based utility Portland General and Enron’s interest in three major pipelines--would be tantamount to a liquidation.

The sale also will serve the function of deciding whether a liquidation sale would yield more money for creditors than would the restructuring proposed by acting Chief Executive Stephen Cooper, people familiar with the discussions between Enron and its creditors said.

“Cooper said the assets were worth more as a going concern than sold separately, and the creditors said, ‘Prove it.’ This is designed to see what they’re worth,” said one of these people, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“But if we get good prices for these, you’d better believe they would be sold.”

Houston-based Enron said it would not sell if the bids came in too low, a distinct possibility in the depressed environment for utility assets with the lack of strong buyers.

Final bids for the assets are expected to be due in November, pending Bankruptcy Court approval.

The sale encompasses about 90% of what is left at the energy trader, which had plans to be reborn as OpCo Energy Co.

“If all 12 of these things were sold, you wouldn’t have an OpCo left,” said another Enron source who requested anonymity.

“The whole thing is maximizing value for the asset. If a sale is the better value, then the asset is sold.”

Cooper has always stated that his main concern was squeezing the most money he could out of the Enron estate for creditors.

The list of assets for sale includes the Transwestern Pipeline that extends from west Texas to California, power plants and a small natural gas exploration and production company.

Enron filed for bankruptcy in December after investor confidence collapsed amid revelations that it hid billions of dollars of debt and inflated earnings via a series of questionable off-balance-sheet transactions.