US: New bidder for Oncor stymies Buffett, Paul Miller

A lawyer for Elliott Management Corp told a US bankruptcy judge on Friday that an unidentified utility could pay US$9.3 billion to buy Texas power transmission company Oncor Electric Delivery, topping Berkshire Hathaway’s US$9 billion bid.

Such a bid would add to the competition that Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s chief executive, faces for Oncor. Elliott, a hedge fund that is the largest creditor of Oncor’s bankrupt parent Energy Future, has been seeking to block Oncor’s sale to Berkshire Hathaway and put together a consortium to buy the company.

A source close to Energy Future, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it had already received a US$9.3 billion offer for Oncor, but would not disclose the bidder’s identity or other details.

Berkshire has said its deal represents the best chance for Oncor to emerge from more than three years of bankruptcy, but that it will walk away if the takeover does not win court approval at the Monday hearing.

A deal for Oncor is key to ending the bankruptcy of its parent, which has been restructuring almost US$50 billion of debt for more than three years. Elliott CEO Paul Singer and Buffett are set for a showdown Monday in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, that could help determine who gets to buy Oncor.

Full Content: The Street

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