Houston, Nov 30: A year after careening into what was then the largest bankruptcy in history, Enron Corp. could be on the verge of selling its 12 most valuable assets and disappearing from the corporate landscape.
That is, if creditors agree liquidation is their best shot at recouping as much as possible from the company, whose failure was a precursor to a string of business scandals in 2002.

"It looks like it is going to take us over a year and tens of millions of dollars in administrative fees to get to the point that should have seemed obvious from the beginning Enron should be put up for auction," said Todd Zywicki, a bankruptcy law professor at George Mason University.
Enron is taking bids on the non-bankrupt assets that have generated most of its income for the past year, including Port and General Electric, the Portland, Oregon, utility acquired in 19 that serves 740,000 customers in the Pacific Northwest, and Enron's whole or part ownership in three pipelines.

Spokesman Mark Palmer said final bids and purchase agreements will be in by late December. If creditors favor a sell-off, bi will be presented to a federal bankruptcy judge in New York in early January.



"Whether we liquidate or stay together, the question is, 'are they worth more sold?'" Palmer said. "Or, if the market doesn't value them, will we combine them into a new company that creditors hold equity in? It's a mathematical, economic decision."


Bureau Report