Sempra, the ‘mystery third bidder’ for Oncor Electric

Bloomberg

Sempra Energy is the mystery third bidder for Oncor Electric Delivery Co. that’s competing with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
San Diego-based Sempra has made a $9.3 billion offer for the Texas utility, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is not public. Berkshire has offered $9 billion, while Elliott has been working on a deal that may total $9.3 billion.
Lawyers disclosed that another bidder had emerged for Oncor during a bankruptcy hearing, without revealing
the name of the suitor. Oncor is a division of bankrupt Energy Future Holdings Corp. Representatives for Sempra, Oncor and Elliott declined
to comment.
A deal for Oncor is key to ending the bankruptcy of its parent, which has been restructuring almost $50 billion of debt for more than three years. Singer and Buffett
are set for a showdown in
US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, that could help determine who gets to buy Oncor.
‘THE PUBLIC’S INTEREST’
The Dallas-based company serves almost 10 million customers and operates more than 106,000 miles (170,590 kilometers) of distribution lines. Energy Future’s earlier efforts to sell the firm have failed. Texas utility regulators this year quashed a NextEra Energy Inc. offer valued at $18.4 billion including debt, after the utility giant refused to accept measures to protect Oncor’s credit. A group led
by Hunt Consolidated Inc. dropped a bid last year after the state imposed conditions it found too onerous.