Power generator NextEra Energy Inc. has renewed its interest in buying Oncor Electric Delivery Co., as a rival takeover deal shows signs of unraveling, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. NextEra made its position known after Oncor parent Energy Future Holdings Corp. replaced its bankruptcy reorganization plan on May 1. Under the original plan, its most-profitable business would have been sold to a group led by Hunt Consolidated Inc. While that possibility still exists under the new structure, the change freed Oncor up to be pursued by other bidders, Chief Executive Officer Robert Shapard said at a Texas regulatory hearing May 4. “We are to work with all parties interested in buying the company at this point,” Shapard said at the hearing. An Energy Future lawyer mentioned a “third party indication of interest” in Oncor in a court hearing on an unrelated matter May 10. The lawyer did not elaborate. Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra’s interest in Oncor is likely driven by its growth potential, due to increased demand expectations in the Texas market, Julien Dumoulin-Smith, a UBS Group AG analyst in New York, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. Growth may also be driven by the need for more spending to address coal-fired power plant retirements, he wrote.
