Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. has purchased a slice of debt that would ensure the hedge fund's ability to block Warren Buffett's deal to buy power-transmission business Oncor, Dow Jones Newswires reported today. Elliott has been acquiring debt of Energy Future Holdings Corp., which owns Oncor, in recent months. The fund already owned a major position in the biggest block of debt and had argued it could block any deal, but the purchase of a different class from Fidelity Investments closes a potential loophole that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. could have used to force the deal. Berkshire said yesterday that it was standing pat and wouldn't raise its more than $9 billion offer for Oncor. In a statement, the company emphasized support it has gotten from Texas stakeholders, saying it "sets our offer apart from any other bid." State regulators had squashed prior deals for Oncor.
