well, can you belive this mgt ?
Calpine making progress on asset sales
Tuesday September 10, 9:24 am ET
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept 10 (Reuters) - Independent power producer Calpine Corp. (NYSE:CPN - News) on Tuesday said it had sold about 40 percent of assets earmarked last year to bolster its balance sheet and credit rating following the fall of wholesale power prices.
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San Jose, California-based Calpine said it had reached agreements or closed on deals valued at over $260 million of the total $650 million of potential asset sales it said it would sell to pay down debt and increase liquidity.
Included in the sales were a 14 percent interest in the 200 megawatt Lockport Power Plant for about $27 million, Canadian oil and gas properties for about $81 million, and termination of a Canadian power development partnership which garnered it $14 million in reimbursement of power costs.
The company said it entered into a letter of intent to sell two General Electric LM600 gas turbines which it expects to close in the fourth quarter of 2002.
Earlier this year, the company had canceled $1.2 billion of turbine orders and adjusted the timing, delivery and related payment schedules for 81 turbines with GE, Siemens Westinghouse, and Toshiba.
The company also said that it continued to evaluate potential sales of all assets, including oil and gas properties, power sales agreements, and non-strategic power assets.
Calpine is particularly sensitive to swings on power prices because it has no income from regulated subsidiaries to fall back on. The sharp drop in electricity prices linked to a soft economy and fallout from the collapse of energy giant Enron Corp. which hurt both its stock price and its credit rating. |
