Financing
Calpine sets up $250m credit facility
California power company Calpine has entered into a $250 million letter of credit facility with Deutsche Bank, which expires in October 2005. The San José-based company expects this new credit enhancement structure to widen its spark spreads and increase…
Oklahoma utility sells $140 million of 30-year senior notes
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E), the power utility subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp, has sold $140 million of 6.5% 30-year senior notes to help finance a power plant purchase.
BNP closes revolving credit facility for Sempra Energy Trading
French bank BNP Paribas has closed a $1 billion multicurrency secured revolving credit facility for four borrowers forming part of Sempra Energy Trading, the commodity-trading unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy.
Nomura creates energy capital markets group
Japanese bank Nomura has created an energy capital markets group based in New York and London. The group will focus on the strategic acquisition of assets and financing of investments in energy and related infrastructure.
Power financing up one third to $20 billion
Power was the best performing project finance sector in the first six months of 2004, up by a third compared with the same period last year, according to research by London based global banking analyst Dealogic. Power projects accounted for 39% of total…
Pemex gains $1.25bn credit facility
Mexican oil company Pemex yesterday set up a credit facility of $1.25 billion, arranged by four firms, including French bank BNP Paribas.
Centrica sells AA, looks to acquire energy assets
British utility Centrica is to sell its Automobile Association (AA) motoring organisation for £1.75 billion to private equity firms CVC and Permira. The sale will raise cash to pay a higher dividend and buy back shares and Centrica will also use the…
TXU lines up $2.5 billion of new credit facilities
Three subsidiaries of Dallas-based energy company TXU have refinanced $2.25 billion of bank facilities scheduled to mature in 2005.
Voser returns to Shell from ABB
Troubled energy major Royal Dutch/Shell has appointed Peter Voser as director of its Shell Transport and Trading Company subsidiary and as group managing director and director of finance of the Royal Dutch/Shell group.
Sempra completes $1bn credit facility
Connecticut-based Sempra Energy Trading, the energy-trading unit of Sempra Energy, has completed a two-year committed credit facility for $1 billion to help finance the company’s global operations.
GFI to go public
GFI Group has announced its intentions to become a public company, filing for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
Merrill Lynch tipped to bid for EKT
Rumours are circulating that Merrill Lynch may snap up Entergy-Koch Trading (EKT) following last week’s news that New Orleans-based Entergy Corporation and Wichita’s Koch Industries are considering selling their Houston-based energy trading business.
PSE&G closes $600 million credit facility
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) has closed on a new $600 million revolving credit facility. This transaction is one of the first five-year revolvers in the power sector in recent years.
Nymex chief quit over pay cut
Bo Collins' decision to resign as president of Nymex was triggered by the board cutting his compensation package, said a source at Nymex.
Private equity firm buys into Refco
US private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) has acquired a majority stake in Refco, the New York-based broker.
Nymex fires opening shots for ICE
Nymex has made a $150 million cash bid for the Atlanta based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and would also pay $67 million for shareholders of the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), according to a senior Nymex official. The bid, which includes…
US puts trust in Canadian finance
Canadian income trusts have been trading at all-time highs. Now that the Canadiangovernment is allowing bigger players onto the market, interest from US energyfirms in such vehicles is growing. By Catherine Lacoursiere
Sempra secures credit facility; raises earnings guidance
San Diego-based Sempra Energy is in the process of securing a two-year line of credit with "major financial institutions" that will provide as much as $1 billion. The line of credit, which will be secured by certain trading company assets, will be used…
BoA’s head of energy trading lands at hedge fund
Julian Barrowcliffe, formerly global head of energy trading for Bank of America in New York, has joined Vega Asset Management – a New York-based hedge fund with $11 billion under management. In his new role Barrowcliffe will manage a commodities trading…
Mooney quits Trafigura to launch Merrill fund of funds
David Mooney, formerly head of power and gas trading at Trafigura in London, has left the Swiss commodity trading house to join Merrill Lynch. Mooney will join Merrill in mid-June as a managing director where he will be charged with evaluating commodity…
CGE Power falls as banks demand cash
CGE Power, the bank consortium formed to acquire distressed UK power assets, has withdrawn offers totalling around £3 billion on 12 plants and ceased trading after proposals to acquire two key power plants were rejected by lenders, according to a…
US refinancings suggest recovery
Do several big debt refinancings at US utilities mean energy companies are finally starting to emerge from their post-Enron and post-California crisis problems? Joe Marsh reports
Louise Kitchen
Growth potential is what makes Louise Kitchen tick, and she relishes the chanceto build up UBS’s energy trading team. By James Ockenden