Dan

thanx for the article. you should just go to ene news on yahoo finance. it has every article from forbes and fortune to reuters and the associated press (where this one came from)

Chris

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Dorland, Dan  
Sent:	Tuesday, December 11, 2001 8:32 AM
To:	Devries, Paul; Borg, Jeff; Ellis, Dave; Dorland, Chris; Burnham, Steven
Subject:	Toronto Star: Banks said preparing Enron bids 

Dec. 11, 01:00 EDT Banks said preparing Enron bids 
Other big lenders may make offers later, reports say
	
NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG are reportedly preparing rival bids to purchase the sputtering trading operations of Enron Corp., the Houston-based energy giant that filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. 
The two investment banks are expected to make separate proposals as early as this week to a New York bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times reported yesterday, citing unidentified sources. 
Enron's trading business, which accounted for roughly 90 per cent of earnings in the third quarter, has deteriorated in recent weeks because of uncertainty about Enron's finances. 
JP Morgan Chase and Co., which like Citigroup is a large Enron creditor, is expected to submit its own offer at a later stage, the newspapers said. The potential size of the bids was not reported. 
Shares of Enron climbed 4 cents (U.S.) to close at 79 cents yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. 
Negotiators for Enron, Citigroup and UBS met over the weekend to finalize the details of the proposals, although sources warned that either one may still be withdrawn, the newspapers said. 
According to the reports, Enron would retain a large minority stake under the terms of the proposals being prepared. 
Representatives from Citigroup and UBS said their companies would not comment on the matter. Enron did not immediately return calls seeking comment. 
Just months ago, Enron was the country's seventh-largest company in terms of revenue. 
But the company stock plummeted after the company in October revealed questionable partnerships that helped keep billions of dollars of debt off its books and Enron acknowledged it overstated profits for four years. 
The swift collapse has launched investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, labor department, justice department and a congressional committee. 
Yesterday, Enron said it will negotiate a retention plan for some of its remaining employees after paying $105 million during the past two months to keep almost 600 workers on the job. 
The former top energy trader paid $50 million in bonuses last month to keep 75 workers, mostly electricity and natural-gas traders, while trying to conclude a merger with rival Dynegy Inc. That's before paying $55 million in bonuses to about 500 employees just ahead of its Dec. 2 bankruptcy filing. 
Enron wants to retain employees needed to keep the trading business operating in hopes it can survive and emerge from Chapter 11 protection, analysts said. 
"It seems logical that they would have to spend to keep key people," said Mike Heim, an A.G. Edwards analyst in St. Louis, Mo. 
Enron spokesperson Mark Palmer, however, said more job cuts are likely at the Houston-based company. 
He declined to comment on how much more Enron might spend on employee retentions. "It depends on what we can work out with the creditors' committee," Palmer said. 
"It's all up to the judge in the end, but usually the judge weighs heavily what the creditors' committee says." 
Enron cut 60 per cent of the 7,500 workers at its Houston headquarters last week, and 1,100 jobs were eliminated in the U.K. Before the company filed for bankruptcy last week, it employed 21,000 people. 

With files from Bloomberg News