April 20, 2007
JPMorgan Unfurls Mirant Auction
JPMorgan dispatched preliminary marketing material on Mirant Corp.'s remaining domestic assets to potential buyers last week. As first reported by PFR, the Atlanta IPP is exploring strategic alternatives, including entering into a merger or sale with another company (PFR, 4/5).
The remaining business consists of 10,650 MW of unregulated generation located in the PJM (5,256 MW), Northeast (3,047 MW) and California (2,347 MW). The IPP began divesting non-core businesses late last year, pressurized by hedge funds such as Pirate Capital (PFR, 8/9) and expects to have $6 billion in cash and $3 billion in debt upon closing those sales.
It is in the process of selling its Philippines business to a Marubeni and Tokyo Electric Power-led consortium; its Caribbean business to Marubeni; and six gas-fired plants to LS Power. Alliance Energy has agreed to buy a bundle of hydro- and gas-fired assets in New York for $5.1 million, which was slated to close by September 1, but the purchase and sale agreement is not mentioned in the business overview. Mirant's stock is trading at $45.46, after it emerged from bankruptcy in January 2006. Spokespeople at the company and officials at JPMorgan did not return calls.