AFR reports today that "the difficult process of selling or recapitalising Alinta is in full swing". According to the article, final bids for the company or individual assets are due in August. The bidders are reported as:
Origin - who has bought Alinta debt through the secondary market with the assistance of Macquarie. Origin are chasing the gas and electricity retail operations.
BHP Billiton - chasing the Port Hedland and Newman power stations that they sold to Alinta in 1998.
Sumitomo - chasing the power generations assets.
Acwa Power International (Saudi power company) - their specific interest is unclear.
Alinta is also still considering the recapitalisation of the company - any deal here requires the consent of both the equity and debt holders. As GPG owns 19.9% of the equity, they are the key player here.
Roll on August.....
AEJ Price at posting:
4.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
