enron mentions partnership spurs enron equity cut - - - vehicle is connected to financial officer
the wall street journal , 10 / 18 / 01
suit alleges conflict of interest at enron
houston chronicle , 10 / 18 / 01
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
bloomberg , 10 / 17 / 01
analysts vent anger at ' hidden ' enron charge .
financial times - ft . com , 10 / 18 / 01
enron says its links to partnership led to $ 1 . 2 billion equity reduction
dow jones business news , 10 / 18 / 01
markets ford ' s financial fine - tuning leads to $ 692 million loss in 3 rd quarter earnings : sales incentives , production cutbacks hit company hard . ceo plans reorganizational moves .
los angeles times , 10 / 18 / 01
uk : analysis - lme members survey hard choices ahead .
reuters english news service , 10 / 18 / 01
maharashtra to challenge london court order on dpc
the economic times , 10 / 18 / 01
india : enron : maharashtra to move london court in a week
business line ( the hindu ) , 10 / 18 / 01
india : gail keen on dabhol lng terminal project
business line ( the hindu ) , 10 / 18 / 01
ferc to discuss possible changes to west pwr price caps
dow jones energy service , 10 / 17 / 01
partnership spurs enron equity cut - - - vehicle is connected to financial officer
by rebecca smith and john r . emshwiller
staff reporters of the wall street journal
10 / 18 / 2001
the wall street journal
cl
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones & company , inc . )
enron corp . shrank its shareholder equity by $ 1 . 2 billion as the company decided to repurchase 55 million of its shares that it had issued as part of a series of complex transactions with an investment vehicle connected to its chief financial officer andrew s . fastow .
enron didn ' t disclose the big equity reduction in its earnings release issued on tuesday , when the houston - based energy giant announced a $ 1 . 01 billion charge to third - quarter earnings that produced a $ 618 million loss . but the company briefly mentioned it in a subsequent call with security analysts and confirmed it in response to questions yesterday . as a result of the reduction , enron ' s shareholder equity has dropped to $ 9 . 5 billion , the company said .
in an interview tuesday , enron chairman kenneth lay said that about $ 35 million of the $ 1 . 01 billion charge to earnings was related to transactions with ljm 2 co - investment lp , a limited partnership created and run by mr . fastow . in a conference call yesterday with investors , mr . lay said that the 55 million shares had been repurchased by enron , as the company " unwound " its participation in the transactions . in the third quarter , the company ' s average number of shares outstanding was 913 million .
according to rick causey , enron ' s chief accounting officer , these shares were contributed to a " structured finance vehicle " set up about two years ago in which enron and ljm 2 were the only investors . in exchange for the stock , the entity provided enron with a note . the aim of the transaction was to provide hedges against fluctuating values in some of enron ' s broadband telecommunications and other technology investments . mr . causey didn ' t elaborate on what form those hedges took .
subsequently , both the value of enron ' s stock and the value of the broadband investments hedged by the entity dropped sharply . as a result , enron decided essentially to dissolve the financing vehicle and reacquire the shares . when enron reacquired the shares , it also canceled the note it had received from the entity .
in addition , enron was receiving increasing criticism from analysts and major shareholders concerning the apparent conflict of interest involving the role of its chief financial officer in the partnership , from which he stood to make millions of dollars . in july , mr . fastow formally severed his connections to ljm . mr . fastow has declined to be interviewed .
given all the complexities of the ljm - related financing vehicle and the questions it raised outside the company , " the confusion factor wasn ' t worth the trouble of trying to continue this , " mr . causey said .
enron downplayed the significance of the share - reduction exercise . mark palmer , an enron spokesman , described it " as just a balance - sheet issue " and therefore wasn ' t deemed " material " for disclosure purposes .
jeff dietret , an analyst for simmons & co . in houston , said that a large reduction of equity could be " a flag for the rating agencies " because it could adversely affect a company ' s debt - to - equity ratio . enron said yesterday that as a result of the equity reduction , its debt - to - equity ratio rose to 50 % from 46 % previously .
on tuesday , after enron reported its big quarterly loss , moody ' s investors service inc . put enron ' s long - term debt on review for a possible downgrade . moody ' s said the move was related to " significant write - downs and charges reflecting substantially reduced valuations " in several of enron ' s businesses . in recent years , enron had moved aggressively into broadband telecommunications and the water business , both of which failed to produce expected returns .
enron , which as of june 30 had $ 33 . 6 billion in current liabilities and long - term debt , has lately been attempting to shed assets to pay down debt .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
oct . 18 , 2001
houston chronicle
briefs : houston & state
suit alleges conflict of interest at enron
enron corp . ' s board cost the company at least $ 35 million by allowing the chief financial officer to manage partnerships that bought enron assets , a shareholder alleges .
fred greenberg filed the suit wednesday in harris county district court , said his lawyer , paul paradis .
chief financial officer andrew fastow ' s positions with two limited partnerships that bought enron assets were a clear conflict of interest , paradis said . the lawsuit doesn ' t specify which assets the partnerships bought .
the lawsuit comes a day after enron reported $ 1 . 01 billion in third - quarter losses from failed investments .
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
2001 - 10 - 17 19 : 42 ( new york )
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
( adds detail on third - quarter loss in final paragraph . )
houston , oct . 17 ( bloomberg ) - - enron corp . ' s board cost the
company at least $ 35 million by allowing the chief financial
officer to manage partnerships that bought enron assets , a
shareholder alleges in a lawsuit .
shareholder fred greenberg filed the suit today in harris
county district court in houston , said paul paradis , a partner at
the law firm abbey gardy llp and greenberg ' s attorney . enron is
based in houston .
chief financial officer andrew fastow ' s positions with two
limited partnerships that bought enron assets was a clear conflict
of interest , paradis said . the lawsuit doesn ' t specify which
assets the partnerships bought .
` ` enron directors permitted fastow to be in the unique
position of knowing what assets were worth , ' ' paradis said . ` ` he
was placed in the position of irreconcilable conflict that
permitted him to capitalize on enron ' s proprietary information . ' '
the lawsuit comes the day after enron reported $ 1 . 01 billion
in third - quarter losses from failed investments . the wall street
journal reported today that $ 35 million of the losses were
connected with two limited partnerships run by fastow .
the suit seeks damages of at least $ 35 million , paradis said .
damages would be paid to the company , probably by insurance
protecting directors from lawsuits , paradis said .
enron spokesman mark palmer declined to comment on the
allegations .
formed to lower debt
the company has formed several limited partnerships that buy
its assets . this allows enron to reduce debt so it can borrow more
money for other projects .
the suit , citing details from today ' s wall street journal
article , says fastow ran two of the partnerships , ljm cayman and
ljm 2 . he could have earned as much as 2 percent annually of the
total amounts the partnerships invested , the suit says . ljm cayman
raised $ 16 million in initial partnership capital , while ljm 2
raised at least $ 200 million .
allowing a company official to run the partnerships raises
the question of impropriety , said andre meade , an analyst at
commerzbank securities who rates enron a ` ` buy ' ' and owns no
company shares .
partnerships not uncommon
many companies create limited partnerships , meade said , using
them for tax purposes . ` ` duke energy corp . and kinder morgan inc .
both have limited partnerships where assets are transferred , ' ' he
said .
enron also has owned a controlling interest in whitewing
limited partnership . whitewing was financed with a $ 1 . 4 billion
bond sale last year conducted by osprey trust , which set up the
partnership with $ 807 million for buying enron assets , according
to the osprey trust offering memorandum .
whitewing has bought 14 enron power and gas companies since
it was formed in 1999 , according to the memorandum . it had sold
four of them as of september 2000 . enron said in the offering
memorandum that officers and directors of the energy trader may
serve as directors of whitewing .
` ` therefore the duties of the directors and officers of enron
may conflict with the duties of the officers and directors of
whitewing management llc , ' ' the osprey trust offering memorandum
says .
enron reported a third - quarter loss of $ 618 million , or 84
cents a share yesterday , compared with net income of $ 292 million ,
or 34 cents , a year earlier . shares of enron fell $ 1 . 64 to $ 32 . 20
today .
analysts vent anger at ' hidden ' enron charge .
by julie earle .
10 / 18 / 2001
financial times - ft . com
( c ) 2001 financial times limited . all rights reserved
enron , the us energy trader which is under intense scrutiny by analysts who have demanded the company release more detailed financial information , on wednesday gave details of a $ 1 . 2 bn charge against equity it skipped over in its third quarter results briefing on tuesday .
on wednesday , enron outlined details of a $ 1 . 01 bn charge against earnings in its result , due to failed investments in its telecommunications , retail energy sales and water businesses .
ken lay , chairman , fleetingly mentioned a separate $ 1 . 2 bn charge against equity , or a dilution of equity on the company ' s balance sheet , in a conference call with analysts and the media , and said it would not affect the company ' s credit rating .
many analysts apparently thought this was the $ 1 . 01 bn charge mr lay was willing to break down and to answer questions about .
mr lay met analysts on wednesday in new york , but there was again no mention of the $ 1 . 2 bn charge . mr lay apparently initially refused to answer questions from frustrated analysts . in august , after the departure of enron ' s chief financial officer , jeff skilling , mr lay promised to provide more earnings transparency .
" it was unbelievable . questions were asked and he moved around it and then finally he [ mr lay ] gave a roundabout answer . the [ $ 1 . 2 bn ] charge was all related to the writing down of the se failed investments , " one analyst said .
" they were trying to sneak it by . they already have a credibility problem and this did not help it , " he said , adding that enron never disclosed the charge ' s net effect and moody ' s inv estor ' s services , the credit rating agency , placed enron ' s $ 13 bn of debt on hold minutes later . " we told them we felt they should have been more honest in the presentation [ yesterday ] . "
enron rejected criticism of the failure to fully report and explain the $ 1 . 2 bn charge .
( c ) copyright financial times group .
http : / / www . ft . com .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
enron says its links to partnership led to $ 1 . 2 billion equity reduction
10 / 18 / 2001
dow jones business news
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones & company , inc . )
enron corp . shrank its shareholder equity by $ 1 . 2 billion as the company decided to repurchase 55 million of its shares that it had issued as part of a series of complex transactions with an investment vehicle connected to its chief financial officer andrew s . fastow , thursday ' s wall street journal reported .
enron ( ene ) didn ' t disclose the big equity reduction in its earnings release issued on tuesday , when the houston - based energy giant announced a $ 1 . 01 billion charge to third - quarter earnings that produced a $ 618 million loss . but the company briefly mentioned it in a subsequent call with security analysts and confirmed it in response to questions yesterday . as a result of the reduction , enron ' s shareholder equity has dropped to $ 9 . 5 billion , the company said .
in an interview tuesday , enron chairman kenneth lay said that about $ 35 million of the $ 1 . 01 billion charge to earnings was related to transactions with ljm 2 co - investment lp , a limited partnership created and run by mr . fastow . in a conference call yesterday with investors , mr . lay said that the 55 million shares had been repurchased by enron , as the company " unwound " its participation in the transactions . in the third quarter , the company ' s average number of shares outstanding was 913 million .
according to rick causey , enron ' s chief accounting officer , these shares were contributed to a " structured finance vehicle " set up about two years ago in which enron and ljm 2 were the only investors . in exchange for the stock , the entity provided enron with a note . the aim of the transaction was to provide hedges against fluctuating values in some of enron ' s broadband telecommunications and other technology investments . mr . causey didn ' t elaborate on what form those hedges took .
subsequently , both the value of enron ' s stock and the value of the broadband investments hedged by the entity dropped sharply . as a result , enron decided essentially to dissolve the financing vehicle and reacquire the shares . when enron reacquired the shares , it also canceled the note it had received from the entity .
in addition , enron was receiving increasing criticism from analysts and major shareholders concerning the apparent conflict of interest involving the role of its chief financial officer in the partnership , from which he stood to make millions of dollars . in july , mr . fastow formally severed his connections to ljm . mr . fastow has declined to be interviewed .
copyright ( c ) 2001 dow jones & company , inc .
all rights reserved .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones financial desk
markets ford ' s financial fine - tuning leads to $ 692 million loss in 3 rd quarter earnings : sales incentives , production cutbacks hit company hard . ceo plans reorganizational moves .
times wire services
10 / 18 / 2001
los angeles times
home edition
c - 4
copyright 2001 / the times mirror company
ford motor co . had a third - quarter loss of $ 692 million because the second - largest auto maker cut production and offered zero - percent financing to draw car buyers into showrooms .
the loss of 38 cents a share , which compared with year - earlier net income of $ 888 million , or 53 cents , includes the cost of ford ' s plan to sell its company - owned dealerships . sales declined 9 % to $ 36 . 55 billion .
chief executive jacques nasser , who already is eliminating as many as 5 , 000 salaried jobs by year - end , said he will make more moves to reorganize in december . ford cut north american production 23 % from the year - earlier quarter as a slower economy hurt demand and tighter u . s . border security disrupted supplies . marketing expenses rose after ford matched no - interest loans offered by rival general motors corp .
the dearborn , mich . - based company ' s shares , which slipped 55 cents to close at $ 17 . 13 on the new york stock exchange , have fallen 27 % this year .
excluding one - time items , ford had a loss from operations of $ 502 million , or 28 cents a share , matching the average analyst forecast in a thomson financial / first call survey .
the company ' s u . s . vehicle sales fell 11 % through september , twice the industrywide decline . its revenue declined from $ 40 . 06 billion in the year - earlier quarter . north american auto making operations had a third - quarter loss of $ 849 million , compared with year - earlier profit of $ 782 million .
ford ' s fourth - quarter results will improve from the third quarter but " it will be difficult to earn a profit during the quarter , " chief financial officer martin inglis said on a conference call . the first call average forecast that ford will earn 6 cents a share is too high , he said .
at a glance
other earnings , excluding one - time gains or charges unless noted :
* enron corp . , the largest energy trader , posted a $ 618 - million loss in the third quarter after losing $ 1 . 01 billion on failed investments in water , telecommunications and retail energy sales .
the final loss was 84 cents a share after payment of preferred dividends , the houston - based company said .
net income in the year - earlier period was $ 292 million , or 34 cents . revenue rose 59 % to $ 47 . 6 billion .
excluding the charges , enron said it would have earned $ 393 million , or 43 cents a share , which matched the average estimate of analysts . enron said it still expects to earn 45 cents a share in the fourth quarter .
* defense contractor general dynamics corp . said third - quarter operating profit was $ 230 million , or $ 1 . 13 a share , up 13 % from $ 204 million , or $ 1 . 02 a share , a year earlier .
sales rose 22 % to $ 3 . 02 billion .
but the company warned analysts not to boost their full - year earnings estimates beyond $ 4 . 50 a share .
* linens ' n things inc . , the home - accessories and housewares retailer , said third - quarter profit fell 20 % , and fourth - quarter earnings will be at the lower end of analysts ' estimates . net income fell to $ 14 . 7 million , or 36 cents a share , from $ 18 . 4 million , or 45 cents , a year earlier . the company was expected to earn 37 cents . sales 14 % to $ 468 . 9 million .
* office depot inc . said third - quarter profit rose 23 % to $ 62 . 5 million , or 20 cents a share , from $ 50 . 6 million , or 16 cents , a year earlier . office depot said fourth - quarter profit may be 3 cents to 5 cents a share below the 20 - cent average estimate of analysts .
* drug giant pfizer inc . achieved double - digit earnings and revenue growth during the quarter , driven by strong sales of cholesterol treatment lipitor .
pfizer ' s operating profit jumped 28 % to $ 2 . 19 billion , or 34 cents a share , a penny better than expected . those figures exclude one - time costs , including those from pfizer ' s acquisition of warner lambert .
sales rose 10 % to $ 7 . 90 billion .
* philip morris cos . , the biggest tobacco company , said third - quarter profit rose slightly as sales of premium brands such as marlboro increased in the u . s . while declining currencies hurt results abroad .
net income rose to $ 2 . 33 billion , or $ 1 . 06 a share , from $ 2 . 32 billion , or $ 1 . 03 , a year earlier . sales climbed 12 % to $ 22 . 4 billion . the company said it will meet its previous full - year profit growth forecast of 9 % .
separately , the company said chief executive geoffrey bible plans to retire in 10 months at age 65 . under bible , philip morris ' s five - year average annual profit growth is 9 . 3 % , helped by sales of the no . 1 marlboro brand cigarettes and the company ' s miller brewing and kraft foods inc . businesses .
* raytheon co . , maker of the tomahawk missile used by u . s . forces in the attack on afghanistan , posted a net loss after charges , as weakness in its commercial aerospace operations offset gains from military businesses .
raytheon reported a net loss of $ 285 million , or 79 cents per share , compared with a profit of $ 105 million , or 31 cents , a year ago .
those results include charges announced wednesday from the company ' s raytheon aircraft unit , hurt by the sept . 11 attacks ' effect on the commercial air transport industry . even excluding special items , operating earnings fell 10 % , missing wall street ' s targets . revenue fell 7 % to $ 3 . 9 billion .
* trw inc . , the largest u . s . maker of air bags , said third - quarter operating profit fell to $ 75 million , or 59 cents a share , compared with $ 91 million , or 73 cents , a year ago .
sales fell 5 % to $ 3 . 9 billion .
( begin text of infobox / infographic )
earnings reports
( tabular data not included )
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
uk : analysis - lme members survey hard choices ahead .
by martin hayes
10 / 18 / 2001
reuters english news service
( c ) reuters limited 2001 .
london , oct 18 ( reuters ) - the london metal exchange ( lme ) faces stormy times a year after demutualisation as members ask where their future lies - with electronic screens , on an open - outcry trading floor or even in some other type of business .
the debate is happening as the global metals industry gathers in london for the lme ' s annual dinner week , which this year will be a subdued affair .
" lme week will struggle to surprise against a backcloth of military action in afghanistan , dismal economic data , forlorn price sentiment and optimists rarer than hen ' s teeth , " analyst nick moore of j . p . morgan securities said .
a veteran trader said , " it is going to be a less - populous affair this year . the people that have to do their annual deals will still be there , but we have noticed that people are not travelling unless they have to . "
the downturn in the economic cycle has hit the world ' s largest non - ferrous metals market hard . years of volume growth have ended , prices have fallen to lows and shrinking revenues and commissions have pared many brokers ' profits .
mitsuibussan has scaled back activities and no longer makes markets , scotiamocatta has left the floor and blue - blooded n . m . rothschild has simply quit the non - ferrous metals business .
the way to trade
lme trading remains dominated by the price discovery mechanism of the open - outcry official rings , but electronic systems have made deep inroads over the past year .
" the trade is rapidly being condensed into the three screen mediums . enron , spectron and lme select , " a director at one broker said .
traders said screens had almostly completely superseded the telephone market during inter - office sessions as narrower buy / sell quotes in larger markets were available on the highly transparent screens .
" what that has done is to perfect the pricing mechanism - it has flattened out some of the volatility from the market . this has cut the brokers ' margins , but at the same time their overheads are constant - they have to pay for screens and to run a floor operation , " the director said .
screen trading volumes still represent only a small proportion of total daily turnover , but earlier this week the lme reported a record daily turnover of 10 , 483 lots on the select system - by far the highest since the screens were switched on in february .
" we are working hard to ensure that lme select becomes the electronic trading system of choice for our members , " lme chief executive simon heale said .
however , senior traders said that once volumes started to increase on screens , electronic turnovers could explode - as had happened on other exchanges . that could force the issue for the lme as it continued to offer three methods of trading - screens , telephones and open - outcry .
" despite the lme ' s resistance , the world is turning to screens . the ipe ( international petroleum exchange ) is going that way , and in the u . s . that pattern is being seen as well , " another senior trader said .
incentives
traders said open - outcry trading would wither away unless the lme acted to make it more attractive to existing participants and potential new entrants .
" they should be thinking about giving discounts to people on the ring . maybe they should also approach some of the big off - market players and find out what would entice them to become rdms ( ring dealing members ) , " the veteran trader said .
in europe , other than the lme only the ipe has an open - outcry floor , and that will close next year .
the rdms of the lme are trying to fight back - in 2000 they extended the open - outcry sessions by carrying on business through an early - afternoon recess .
but after scotiamocatta metals decided to call a halt to executing business on the floor this week rdm numbers have dwindled to just 11 .
" it is a structural problem as there is just not enough income on the ring . we are almost getting to a ' last man standing ' situation . if we drop under 10 there is a danger the ring may just implode , " the senior trader said .
the ranks of associate broker clearer members ( abcms ) are expanding . these firms have all the benefits of lme membership , but cannot trade during the open - outcry sessions .
this week , south africa ' s investec group joined as an abcm , bringing the total of this membership tier to 26 . another sizeable bank is pondering whether to join , but only as an abcm .
" it would be good if someone else came down , but who is going to spend money recruiting a team - clerks , support staff , back office and so on ? it is best to go for a small team using screens - the lme needs to either cut our costs or make it less easy to go off - market , " a senior floor trader said .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones source : world reporter ( tm )
the maharashtra government has decided to challenge the injunction order issued by the commercial court in london restraining the state from filing suits against the dabhol power company ( dpc ) in india . the dpc had obtained the injunction on octoberl 1 .
the state government has decided to challenge the order as we feel that the concerned court should have heard the state as well . within a week we would be presenting our case , the state chief minister vilasrao deshmukh said here on wednesday .
the ex - parte order relates to arbitration proceedings between the state government and dpc with respect to state guarantee , state support and supplemental state support agreements .
it prevented the state government from taking any legal action in india , challenging the international arbitration proceedings initiated by dpc . mr deshmukh today also reiterated his governments resolve not to draw electricity from dpc .
there is no logic in buying dpc power at higher rate and selling it with much lower rates , deshmukh said . according to deshmukh , due to recent rainfall , the demand for electricity has gone down considerably and the state electricity board is supplying power without interruption .
meanwhile , the government today expressed its resolve to initiate a judicial probe into the entire enron deal . the probe would begin in few weeks , deshmukh said . the state has already requested the chief justice of the mumbai high court to appoint a judge for the probe .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
india : enron : maharashtra to move london court in a week
10 / 18 / 2001
business line ( the hindu )
fin . times info ltd - asia africa intel wire . business line ( the hindu ) copyright ( c ) 2001 kasturi & sons ltd . all rights res ' d
mumbai , oct . 17 maharashtra will move the commercial court of london " within a week " against the injunction obtained by enron ' s dabhol power company ( dpc ) restraining the state from challenging international arbitration initiated by dpc in any indian court , the chief minister , mr vilasrao deshmukh , told newspersons .
he was speaking at a post - cabinet meeting press conference here on wednesday . the enron - promoted dpc had obtained the ex - parte order on october 11 , 2001 . the state government had 23 days to respond to the order .
the arbitration panel has been constituted for some time now and proceedings were expected to begin any time . however , the proceedings could not take off as a dispute over the jurisdiction of the maharashtra state electricity regulatory commission had dragged on to the mumbai high court and then the supreme court . both the courts had restrained dpc from continuing international arbitration pending resolution of the merc jurisdiction issue .
the chief minister also said the appointment of a retired supreme court judge to head the judicial probe into the power purchase agreement with enron would also be completed in a week ' s time .
our bureau
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
india : gail keen on dabhol lng terminal project
10 / 18 / 2001
business line ( the hindu )
fin . times info ltd - asia africa intel wire . business line ( the hindu ) copyright ( c ) 2001 kasturi & sons ltd . all rights res ' d
new delhi , oct . 17 gas authority of india ltd ( gail ) has written to both the petroleum ministry and the power ministry evincing interest in the 5 million tonnes per annum ( mmtpa ) lng regassification terminal of the dabhol power company , according to government officials .
in a recent communique to the two ministries , it has asked the financial institutions to set up a meeting to enable it review the financial details of the lng project . the financial data on the lng project solely rests with bechtel , ge and enron .
as a first step towards examining the financial data , gail will require to enter into a confidentiality clause agreement with the present project sponsors to access the data .
meanwhile , the financial institutions are awaiting the results of political parleys between the centre and the maharashtra government towards bringing the latter into a ' solution finding ' mode to implement a financial restructuring package and resolve the dabhol crisis .
once this is done , the fis will freeze the financial package - involving sacrifices undertaken by the present stakeholders - and again elicit market response towards bettering the tatas ' proposition .
although the fis had earlier scouted the market and found only the tatas evincing interest in the project , it would again offer the dabhol project to the market to ensure that the concessions on the part of the state are not awarded on a nomination basis .
the foreign lenders have pointed out that they would not be agreeable to the domestic fis spearheading the salvage operation finally resulting in transfer of ownership of the power plant . hence , the government is mulling a high - level committee to implement the process leading to transfer of ownership .
balaji c . mouli
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
ferc to discuss possible changes to west pwr price caps
by jason leopold and andrew dowell
10 / 17 / 2001
dow jones energy service
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones 323 - 658 - 3874 ; jason . leopold @ dowjones . com
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
enron mentions
partnership spurs enron equity cut - - - vehicle is connected to financial officer
the wall street journal , 10 / 18 / 01
suit alleges conflict of interest at enron
houston chronicle , 10 / 18 / 01
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
bloomberg , 10 / 17 / 01
analysts vent anger at ' hidden ' enron charge .
financial times - ft . com , 10 / 18 / 01
enron says its links to partnership led to $ 1 . 2 billion equity reduction
dow jones business news , 10 / 18 / 01
markets ford ' s financial fine - tuning leads to $ 692 million loss in 3 rd quarter earnings : sales incentives , production cutbacks hit company hard . ceo plans reorganizational moves .
los angeles times , 10 / 18 / 01
uk : analysis - lme members survey hard choices ahead .
reuters english news service , 10 / 18 / 01
maharashtra to challenge london court order on dpc
the economic times , 10 / 18 / 01
india : enron : maharashtra to move london court in a week
business line ( the hindu ) , 10 / 18 / 01
india : gail keen on dabhol lng terminal project
business line ( the hindu ) , 10 / 18 / 01
ferc to discuss possible changes to west pwr price caps
dow jones energy service , 10 / 17 / 01
partnership spurs enron equity cut - - - vehicle is connected to financial officer
by rebecca smith and john r . emshwiller
staff reporters of the wall street journal
10 / 18 / 2001
the wall street journal
cl
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones & company , inc . )
enron corp . shrank its shareholder equity by $ 1 . 2 billion as the company decided to repurchase 55 million of its shares that it had issued as part of a series of complex transactions with an investment vehicle connected to its chief financial officer andrew s . fastow .
enron didn ' t disclose the big equity reduction in its earnings release issued on tuesday , when the houston - based energy giant announced a $ 1 . 01 billion charge to third - quarter earnings that produced a $ 618 million loss . but the company briefly mentioned it in a subsequent call with security analysts and confirmed it in response to questions yesterday . as a result of the reduction , enron ' s shareholder equity has dropped to $ 9 . 5 billion , the company said .
in an interview tuesday , enron chairman kenneth lay said that about $ 35 million of the $ 1 . 01 billion charge to earnings was related to transactions with ljm 2 co - investment lp , a limited partnership created and run by mr . fastow . in a conference call yesterday with investors , mr . lay said that the 55 million shares had been repurchased by enron , as the company " unwound " its participation in the transactions . in the third quarter , the company ' s average number of shares outstanding was 913 million .
according to rick causey , enron ' s chief accounting officer , these shares were contributed to a " structured finance vehicle " set up about two years ago in which enron and ljm 2 were the only investors . in exchange for the stock , the entity provided enron with a note . the aim of the transaction was to provide hedges against fluctuating values in some of enron ' s broadband telecommunications and other technology investments . mr . causey didn ' t elaborate on what form those hedges took .
subsequently , both the value of enron ' s stock and the value of the broadband investments hedged by the entity dropped sharply . as a result , enron decided essentially to dissolve the financing vehicle and reacquire the shares . when enron reacquired the shares , it also canceled the note it had received from the entity .
in addition , enron was receiving increasing criticism from analysts and major shareholders concerning the apparent conflict of interest involving the role of its chief financial officer in the partnership , from which he stood to make millions of dollars . in july , mr . fastow formally severed his connections to ljm . mr . fastow has declined to be interviewed .
given all the complexities of the ljm - related financing vehicle and the questions it raised outside the company , " the confusion factor wasn ' t worth the trouble of trying to continue this , " mr . causey said .
enron downplayed the significance of the share - reduction exercise . mark palmer , an enron spokesman , described it " as just a balance - sheet issue " and therefore wasn ' t deemed " material " for disclosure purposes .
jeff dietret , an analyst for simmons & co . in houston , said that a large reduction of equity could be " a flag for the rating agencies " because it could adversely affect a company ' s debt - to - equity ratio . enron said yesterday that as a result of the equity reduction , its debt - to - equity ratio rose to 50 % from 46 % previously .
on tuesday , after enron reported its big quarterly loss , moody ' s investors service inc . put enron ' s long - term debt on review for a possible downgrade . moody ' s said the move was related to " significant write - downs and charges reflecting substantially reduced valuations " in several of enron ' s businesses . in recent years , enron had moved aggressively into broadband telecommunications and the water business , both of which failed to produce expected returns .
enron , which as of june 30 had $ 33 . 6 billion in current liabilities and long - term debt , has lately been attempting to shed assets to pay down debt .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
oct . 18 , 2001
houston chronicle
briefs : houston & state
suit alleges conflict of interest at enron
enron corp . ' s board cost the company at least $ 35 million by allowing the chief financial officer to manage partnerships that bought enron assets , a shareholder alleges .
fred greenberg filed the suit wednesday in harris county district court , said his lawyer , paul paradis .
chief financial officer andrew fastow ' s positions with two limited partnerships that bought enron assets were a clear conflict of interest , paradis said . the lawsuit doesn ' t specify which assets the partnerships bought .
the lawsuit comes a day after enron reported $ 1 . 01 billion in third - quarter losses from failed investments .
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
2001 - 10 - 17 19 : 42 ( new york )
enron shareholder sues over partnerships run by cfo ( update 2 )
( adds detail on third - quarter loss in final paragraph . )
houston , oct . 17 ( bloomberg ) - - enron corp . ' s board cost the
company at least $ 35 million by allowing the chief financial
officer to manage partnerships that bought enron assets , a
shareholder alleges in a lawsuit .
shareholder fred greenberg filed the suit today in harris
county district court in houston , said paul paradis , a partner at
the law firm abbey gardy llp and greenberg ' s attorney . enron is
based in houston .
chief financial officer andrew fastow ' s positions with two
limited partnerships that bought enron assets was a clear conflict
of interest , paradis said . the lawsuit doesn ' t specify which
assets the partnerships bought .
` ` enron directors permitted fastow to be in the unique
position of knowing what assets were worth , ' ' paradis said . ` ` he
was placed in the position of irreconcilable conflict that
permitted him to capitalize on enron ' s proprietary information . ' '
the lawsuit comes the day after enron reported $ 1 . 01 billion
in third - quarter losses from failed investments . the wall street
journal reported today that $ 35 million of the losses were
connected with two limited partnerships run by fastow .
the suit seeks damages of at least $ 35 million , paradis said .
damages would be paid to the company , probably by insurance
protecting directors from lawsuits , paradis said .
enron spokesman mark palmer declined to comment on the
allegations .
formed to lower debt
the company has formed several limited partnerships that buy
its assets . this allows enron to reduce debt so it can borrow more
money for other projects .
the suit , citing details from today ' s wall street journal
article , says fastow ran two of the partnerships , ljm cayman and
ljm 2 . he could have earned as much as 2 percent annually of the
total amounts the partnerships invested , the suit says . ljm cayman
raised $ 16 million in initial partnership capital , while ljm 2
raised at least $ 200 million .
allowing a company official to run the partnerships raises
the question of impropriety , said andre meade , an analyst at
commerzbank securities who rates enron a ` ` buy ' ' and owns no
company shares .
partnerships not uncommon
many companies create limited partnerships , meade said , using
them for tax purposes . ` ` duke energy corp . and kinder morgan inc .
both have limited partnerships where assets are transferred , ' ' he
said .
enron also has owned a controlling interest in whitewing
limited partnership . whitewing was financed with a $ 1 . 4 billion
bond sale last year conducted by osprey trust , which set up the
partnership with $ 807 million for buying enron assets , according
to the osprey trust offering memorandum .
whitewing has bought 14 enron power and gas companies since
it was formed in 1999 , according to the memorandum . it had sold
four of them as of september 2000 . enron said in the offering
memorandum that officers and directors of the energy trader may
serve as directors of whitewing .
` ` therefore the duties of the directors and officers of enron
may conflict with the duties of the officers and directors of
whitewing management llc , ' ' the osprey trust offering memorandum
says .
enron reported a third - quarter loss of $ 618 million , or 84
cents a share yesterday , compared with net income of $ 292 million ,
or 34 cents , a year earlier . shares of enron fell $ 1 . 64 to $ 32 . 20
today .
analysts vent anger at ' hidden ' enron charge .
by julie earle .
10 / 18 / 2001
financial times - ft . com
( c ) 2001 financial times limited . all rights reserved
enron , the us energy trader which is under intense scrutiny by analysts who have demanded the company release more detailed financial information , on wednesday gave details of a $ 1 . 2 bn charge against equity it skipped over in its third quarter results briefing on tuesday .
on wednesday , enron outlined details of a $ 1 . 01 bn charge against earnings in its result , due to failed investments in its telecommunications , retail energy sales and water businesses .
ken lay , chairman , fleetingly mentioned a separate $ 1 . 2 bn charge against equity , or a dilution of equity on the company ' s balance sheet , in a conference call with analysts and the media , and said it would not affect the company ' s credit rating .
many analysts apparently thought this was the $ 1 . 01 bn charge mr lay was willing to break down and to answer questions about .
mr lay met analysts on wednesday in new york , but there was again no mention of the $ 1 . 2 bn charge . mr lay apparently initially refused to answer questions from frustrated analysts . in august , after the departure of enron ' s chief financial officer , jeff skilling , mr lay promised to provide more earnings transparency .
" it was unbelievable . questions were asked and he moved around it and then finally he [ mr lay ] gave a roundabout answer . the [ $ 1 . 2 bn ] charge was all related to the writing down of the se failed investments , " one analyst said .
" they were trying to sneak it by . they already have a credibility problem and this did not help it , " he said , adding that enron never disclosed the charge ' s net effect and moody ' s inv estor ' s services , the credit rating agency , placed enron ' s $ 13 bn of debt on hold minutes later . " we told them we felt they should have been more honest in the presentation [ yesterday ] . "
enron rejected criticism of the failure to fully report and explain the $ 1 . 2 bn charge .
( c ) copyright financial times group .
http : / / www . ft . com .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
enron says its links to partnership led to $ 1 . 2 billion equity reduction
10 / 18 / 2001
dow jones business news
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones & company , inc . )
enron corp . shrank its shareholder equity by $ 1 . 2 billion as the company decided to repurchase 55 million of its shares that it had issued as part of a series of complex transactions with an investment vehicle connected to its chief financial officer andrew s . fastow , thursday ' s wall street journal reported .
enron ( ene ) didn ' t disclose the big equity reduction in its earnings release issued on tuesday , when the houston - based energy giant announced a $ 1 . 01 billion charge to third - quarter earnings that produced a $ 618 million loss . but the company briefly mentioned it in a subsequent call with security analysts and confirmed it in response to questions yesterday . as a result of the reduction , enron ' s shareholder equity has dropped to $ 9 . 5 billion , the company said .
in an interview tuesday , enron chairman kenneth lay said that about $ 35 million of the $ 1 . 01 billion charge to earnings was related to transactions with ljm 2 co - investment lp , a limited partnership created and run by mr . fastow . in a conference call yesterday with investors , mr . lay said that the 55 million shares had been repurchased by enron , as the company " unwound " its participation in the transactions . in the third quarter , the company ' s average number of shares outstanding was 913 million .
according to rick causey , enron ' s chief accounting officer , these shares were contributed to a " structured finance vehicle " set up about two years ago in which enron and ljm 2 were the only investors . in exchange for the stock , the entity provided enron with a note . the aim of the transaction was to provide hedges against fluctuating values in some of enron ' s broadband telecommunications and other technology investments . mr . causey didn ' t elaborate on what form those hedges took .
subsequently , both the value of enron ' s stock and the value of the broadband investments hedged by the entity dropped sharply . as a result , enron decided essentially to dissolve the financing vehicle and reacquire the shares . when enron reacquired the shares , it also canceled the note it had received from the entity .
in addition , enron was receiving increasing criticism from analysts and major shareholders concerning the apparent conflict of interest involving the role of its chief financial officer in the partnership , from which he stood to make millions of dollars . in july , mr . fastow formally severed his connections to ljm . mr . fastow has declined to be interviewed .
copyright ( c ) 2001 dow jones & company , inc .
all rights reserved .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones financial desk
markets ford ' s financial fine - tuning leads to $ 692 million loss in 3 rd quarter earnings : sales incentives , production cutbacks hit company hard . ceo plans reorganizational moves .
times wire services
10 / 18 / 2001
los angeles times
home edition
c - 4
copyright 2001 / the times mirror company
ford motor co . had a third - quarter loss of $ 692 million because the second - largest auto maker cut production and offered zero - percent financing to draw car buyers into showrooms .
the loss of 38 cents a share , which compared with year - earlier net income of $ 888 million , or 53 cents , includes the cost of ford ' s plan to sell its company - owned dealerships . sales declined 9 % to $ 36 . 55 billion .
chief executive jacques nasser , who already is eliminating as many as 5 , 000 salaried jobs by year - end , said he will make more moves to reorganize in december . ford cut north american production 23 % from the year - earlier quarter as a slower economy hurt demand and tighter u . s . border security disrupted supplies . marketing expenses rose after ford matched no - interest loans offered by rival general motors corp .
the dearborn , mich . - based company ' s shares , which slipped 55 cents to close at $ 17 . 13 on the new york stock exchange , have fallen 27 % this year .
excluding one - time items , ford had a loss from operations of $ 502 million , or 28 cents a share , matching the average analyst forecast in a thomson financial / first call survey .
the company ' s u . s . vehicle sales fell 11 % through september , twice the industrywide decline . its revenue declined from $ 40 . 06 billion in the year - earlier quarter . north american auto making operations had a third - quarter loss of $ 849 million , compared with year - earlier profit of $ 782 million .
ford ' s fourth - quarter results will improve from the third quarter but " it will be difficult to earn a profit during the quarter , " chief financial officer martin inglis said on a conference call . the first call average forecast that ford will earn 6 cents a share is too high , he said .
at a glance
other earnings , excluding one - time gains or charges unless noted :
* enron corp . , the largest energy trader , posted a $ 618 - million loss in the third quarter after losing $ 1 . 01 billion on failed investments in water , telecommunications and retail energy sales .
the final loss was 84 cents a share after payment of preferred dividends , the houston - based company said .
net income in the year - earlier period was $ 292 million , or 34 cents . revenue rose 59 % to $ 47 . 6 billion .
excluding the charges , enron said it would have earned $ 393 million , or 43 cents a share , which matched the average estimate of analysts . enron said it still expects to earn 45 cents a share in the fourth quarter .
* defense contractor general dynamics corp . said third - quarter operating profit was $ 230 million , or $ 1 . 13 a share , up 13 % from $ 204 million , or $ 1 . 02 a share , a year earlier .
sales rose 22 % to $ 3 . 02 billion .
but the company warned analysts not to boost their full - year earnings estimates beyond $ 4 . 50 a share .
* linens ' n things inc . , the home - accessories and housewares retailer , said third - quarter profit fell 20 % , and fourth - quarter earnings will be at the lower end of analysts ' estimates . net income fell to $ 14 . 7 million , or 36 cents a share , from $ 18 . 4 million , or 45 cents , a year earlier . the company was expected to earn 37 cents . sales 14 % to $ 468 . 9 million .
* office depot inc . said third - quarter profit rose 23 % to $ 62 . 5 million , or 20 cents a share , from $ 50 . 6 million , or 16 cents , a year earlier . office depot said fourth - quarter profit may be 3 cents to 5 cents a share below the 20 - cent average estimate of analysts .
* drug giant pfizer inc . achieved double - digit earnings and revenue growth during the quarter , driven by strong sales of cholesterol treatment lipitor .
pfizer ' s operating profit jumped 28 % to $ 2 . 19 billion , or 34 cents a share , a penny better than expected . those figures exclude one - time costs , including those from pfizer ' s acquisition of warner lambert .
sales rose 10 % to $ 7 . 90 billion .
* philip morris cos . , the biggest tobacco company , said third - quarter profit rose slightly as sales of premium brands such as marlboro increased in the u . s . while declining currencies hurt results abroad .
net income rose to $ 2 . 33 billion , or $ 1 . 06 a share , from $ 2 . 32 billion , or $ 1 . 03 , a year earlier . sales climbed 12 % to $ 22 . 4 billion . the company said it will meet its previous full - year profit growth forecast of 9 % .
separately , the company said chief executive geoffrey bible plans to retire in 10 months at age 65 . under bible , philip morris ' s five - year average annual profit growth is 9 . 3 % , helped by sales of the no . 1 marlboro brand cigarettes and the company ' s miller brewing and kraft foods inc . businesses .
* raytheon co . , maker of the tomahawk missile used by u . s . forces in the attack on afghanistan , posted a net loss after charges , as weakness in its commercial aerospace operations offset gains from military businesses .
raytheon reported a net loss of $ 285 million , or 79 cents per share , compared with a profit of $ 105 million , or 31 cents , a year ago .
those results include charges announced wednesday from the company ' s raytheon aircraft unit , hurt by the sept . 11 attacks ' effect on the commercial air transport industry . even excluding special items , operating earnings fell 10 % , missing wall street ' s targets . revenue fell 7 % to $ 3 . 9 billion .
* trw inc . , the largest u . s . maker of air bags , said third - quarter operating profit fell to $ 75 million , or 59 cents a share , compared with $ 91 million , or 73 cents , a year ago .
sales fell 5 % to $ 3 . 9 billion .
( begin text of infobox / infographic )
earnings reports
( tabular data not included )
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
uk : analysis - lme members survey hard choices ahead .
by martin hayes
10 / 18 / 2001
reuters english news service
( c ) reuters limited 2001 .
london , oct 18 ( reuters ) - the london metal exchange ( lme ) faces stormy times a year after demutualisation as members ask where their future lies - with electronic screens , on an open - outcry trading floor or even in some other type of business .
the debate is happening as the global metals industry gathers in london for the lme ' s annual dinner week , which this year will be a subdued affair .
" lme week will struggle to surprise against a backcloth of military action in afghanistan , dismal economic data , forlorn price sentiment and optimists rarer than hen ' s teeth , " analyst nick moore of j . p . morgan securities said .
a veteran trader said , " it is going to be a less - populous affair this year . the people that have to do their annual deals will still be there , but we have noticed that people are not travelling unless they have to . "
the downturn in the economic cycle has hit the world ' s largest non - ferrous metals market hard . years of volume growth have ended , prices have fallen to lows and shrinking revenues and commissions have pared many brokers ' profits .
mitsuibussan has scaled back activities and no longer makes markets , scotiamocatta has left the floor and blue - blooded n . m . rothschild has simply quit the non - ferrous metals business .
the way to trade
lme trading remains dominated by the price discovery mechanism of the open - outcry official rings , but electronic systems have made deep inroads over the past year .
" the trade is rapidly being condensed into the three screen mediums . enron , spectron and lme select , " a director at one broker said .
traders said screens had almostly completely superseded the telephone market during inter - office sessions as narrower buy / sell quotes in larger markets were available on the highly transparent screens .
" what that has done is to perfect the pricing mechanism - it has flattened out some of the volatility from the market . this has cut the brokers ' margins , but at the same time their overheads are constant - they have to pay for screens and to run a floor operation , " the director said .
screen trading volumes still represent only a small proportion of total daily turnover , but earlier this week the lme reported a record daily turnover of 10 , 483 lots on the select system - by far the highest since the screens were switched on in february .
" we are working hard to ensure that lme select becomes the electronic trading system of choice for our members , " lme chief executive simon heale said .
however , senior traders said that once volumes started to increase on screens , electronic turnovers could explode - as had happened on other exchanges . that could force the issue for the lme as it continued to offer three methods of trading - screens , telephones and open - outcry .
" despite the lme ' s resistance , the world is turning to screens . the ipe ( international petroleum exchange ) is going that way , and in the u . s . that pattern is being seen as well , " another senior trader said .
incentives
traders said open - outcry trading would wither away unless the lme acted to make it more attractive to existing participants and potential new entrants .
" they should be thinking about giving discounts to people on the ring . maybe they should also approach some of the big off - market players and find out what would entice them to become rdms ( ring dealing members ) , " the veteran trader said .
in europe , other than the lme only the ipe has an open - outcry floor , and that will close next year .
the rdms of the lme are trying to fight back - in 2000 they extended the open - outcry sessions by carrying on business through an early - afternoon recess .
but after scotiamocatta metals decided to call a halt to executing business on the floor this week rdm numbers have dwindled to just 11 .
" it is a structural problem as there is just not enough income on the ring . we are almost getting to a ' last man standing ' situation . if we drop under 10 there is a danger the ring may just implode , " the senior trader said .
the ranks of associate broker clearer members ( abcms ) are expanding . these firms have all the benefits of lme membership , but cannot trade during the open - outcry sessions .
this week , south africa ' s investec group joined as an abcm , bringing the total of this membership tier to 26 . another sizeable bank is pondering whether to join , but only as an abcm .
" it would be good if someone else came down , but who is going to spend money recruiting a team - clerks , support staff , back office and so on ? it is best to go for a small team using screens - the lme needs to either cut our costs or make it less easy to go off - market , " a senior floor trader said .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones source : world reporter ( tm )
the maharashtra government has decided to challenge the injunction order issued by the commercial court in london restraining the state from filing suits against the dabhol power company ( dpc ) in india . the dpc had obtained the injunction on octoberl 1 .
the state government has decided to challenge the order as we feel that the concerned court should have heard the state as well . within a week we would be presenting our case , the state chief minister vilasrao deshmukh said here on wednesday .
the ex - parte order relates to arbitration proceedings between the state government and dpc with respect to state guarantee , state support and supplemental state support agreements .
it prevented the state government from taking any legal action in india , challenging the international arbitration proceedings initiated by dpc . mr deshmukh today also reiterated his governments resolve not to draw electricity from dpc .
there is no logic in buying dpc power at higher rate and selling it with much lower rates , deshmukh said . according to deshmukh , due to recent rainfall , the demand for electricity has gone down considerably and the state electricity board is supplying power without interruption .
meanwhile , the government today expressed its resolve to initiate a judicial probe into the entire enron deal . the probe would begin in few weeks , deshmukh said . the state has already requested the chief justice of the mumbai high court to appoint a judge for the probe .
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
india : enron : maharashtra to move london court in a week
10 / 18 / 2001
business line ( the hindu )
fin . times info ltd - asia africa intel wire . business line ( the hindu ) copyright ( c ) 2001 kasturi & sons ltd . all rights res ' d
mumbai , oct . 17 maharashtra will move the commercial court of london " within a week " against the injunction obtained by enron ' s dabhol power company ( dpc ) restraining the state from challenging international arbitration initiated by dpc in any indian court , the chief minister , mr vilasrao deshmukh , told newspersons .
he was speaking at a post - cabinet meeting press conference here on wednesday . the enron - promoted dpc had obtained the ex - parte order on october 11 , 2001 . the state government had 23 days to respond to the order .
the arbitration panel has been constituted for some time now and proceedings were expected to begin any time . however , the proceedings could not take off as a dispute over the jurisdiction of the maharashtra state electricity regulatory commission had dragged on to the mumbai high court and then the supreme court . both the courts had restrained dpc from continuing international arbitration pending resolution of the merc jurisdiction issue .
the chief minister also said the appointment of a retired supreme court judge to head the judicial probe into the power purchase agreement with enron would also be completed in a week ' s time .
our bureau
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
india : gail keen on dabhol lng terminal project
10 / 18 / 2001
business line ( the hindu )
fin . times info ltd - asia africa intel wire . business line ( the hindu ) copyright ( c ) 2001 kasturi & sons ltd . all rights res ' d
new delhi , oct . 17 gas authority of india ltd ( gail ) has written to both the petroleum ministry and the power ministry evincing interest in the 5 million tonnes per annum ( mmtpa ) lng regassification terminal of the dabhol power company , according to government officials .
in a recent communique to the two ministries , it has asked the financial institutions to set up a meeting to enable it review the financial details of the lng project . the financial data on the lng project solely rests with bechtel , ge and enron .
as a first step towards examining the financial data , gail will require to enter into a confidentiality clause agreement with the present project sponsors to access the data .
meanwhile , the financial institutions are awaiting the results of political parleys between the centre and the maharashtra government towards bringing the latter into a ' solution finding ' mode to implement a financial restructuring package and resolve the dabhol crisis .
once this is done , the fis will freeze the financial package - involving sacrifices undertaken by the present stakeholders - and again elicit market response towards bettering the tatas ' proposition .
although the fis had earlier scouted the market and found only the tatas evincing interest in the project , it would again offer the dabhol project to the market to ensure that the concessions on the part of the state are not awarded on a nomination basis .
the foreign lenders have pointed out that they would not be agreeable to the domestic fis spearheading the salvage operation finally resulting in transfer of ownership of the power plant . hence , the government is mulling a high - level committee to implement the process leading to transfer of ownership .
balaji c . mouli
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .
ferc to discuss possible changes to west pwr price caps
by jason leopold and andrew dowell
10 / 17 / 2001
dow jones energy service
( copyright ( c ) 2001 , dow jones 323 - 658 - 3874 ; jason . leopold @ dowjones . com
copyright ? 2000 dow jones & company , inc . all rights reserved .