UBS, Ex-Enron Traders to Revive Trading Soon

UBS said it expected to complete this week its purchase of Enron Corp.’s energy-trading business, which would resume electricity and natural gas transactions that all but dried up after Enron’s bankruptcy.

About 625 Enron traders, technicians and back-office workers are preparing to buy and sell energy contracts for UBS, though no date has been set, UBS spokesman David Walker said. Enron traders have been contacting former customers and lining up credit agreements that UBS will need to complete transactions.

The energy-trading business won’t come close to equaling the $43.4 billion in revenue it generated for Enron in the third quarter, before its collapse, Enron traders said. Many customers that were burned by Enron’s Dec. 2 bankruptcy filing have taken their business to competitors.

UBS, which is based in Switzerland, won a bankruptcy auction for Enron’s dormant trading business. Under the bid, which was approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge Jan. 18, UBS would pay Enron a royalty of 33% of pretax profit from the trading business.