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Standard P&L bids for Enron
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December 3, 2001: 4:29 p.m. ET
Private utility to offer less than $1 a share for crippled energy company.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A closely held company named Standard Power and Light Inc. has notified regulators of its plans to acquire crippled energy trader Enron Corp., but the notice raised as many questions on Wall Street as it answered.
Oak Brook, Ill.-based Standard Power said it plans to pay less than $1 a share for Enron in a tender offer, with the price depending on various issues, including Enron's lawsuit against failed merger partner Dynegy Inc. and Dynegy's suit against Enron.
Enron's (ENE: up $0.14 to $0.40, Research, Estimates) stock rose on the news, but the shares remained well below $1 a share, off their high of $90.75 reached in August 2000.
The tender offer will include a financial package that involves different lenders, both private and public, Standard Power said in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, though it provided few details.
"We intend on acquiring at least the majority of the shares of Enron, selling off all divisions of the business except for the energy-related companies and putting this company back on its feet," Standard Power President Richard Ryan said in the filing. A formal tender offer is not expected for two weeks, he said.
Enron said Monday it was not aware of any offer from Standard Power.
Last summer, Westmont, Ill.-based Standard Energy Ventures bought the assets of six-year-old Standard Power, a developer of independent power plants.
Standard Power CEO Richard Ryan declined to name the company's financial advisor but said he is in talks with two firms.
"Our only concern is how much cash is left in the end of the day for the benefit of our stockholders and bondholders," Ryan told CNN/Money. "We believe that there will be enough cash to make a return on investment of somewhere in the 10 percent range."
Standard Power hopes to assemble a management team within the next two weeks to finish the offer, he said.
While any bid to revive Enron may seem like a long shot, including Enron's own attempts to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy, operating Enron over the long term could be manageable, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.
Enron, which filed bankruptcy after failing in its $10 billion merger with rival Dynegy Inc., has nearly $47.8 billion of debt on its books, according to recent filing with regulators. Amortized over a 25-year period, Enron could pay off the liabilities with $4.2 billion in annual payments, the person said.
If Enron farms out its operations and reduces its overhead burden, it could operate for under $2 billion a year, this person said. 
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