Florida-based NextEra agrees to $18.4 billion deal to buy Texas electricity giant Oncor
t looks like Texas' largest electric utility may be about to get a new owner. And the name is not really a shocker. Florida-based NextEra has been pursuing Oncor for several years. This would mean the Dallas-based Hunts have lost their star-crossed battle to make a deal.
Here are five key takeaways from Friday's announcement:
If it goes through, the $18.4 billion plan is the biggest step in ending bankruptcy proceedings that enmeshed Oncor, the power-plant company Luminant and the retail electricity company TXU Energy for a couple of years. Getting this settled matters to people who don't own stock in or work for these companies because it will stabilize the businesses that produce and transmit most of the electricity in Texas.
It's not official yet. Because the Energy Future Holdings, the parent corporation of those three power-related companies, filed for Chapter 11 in 2014, a bankruptcy judge in Delaware needs to bless the deal for it to happen. (Oncor was not part of the bankruptcy and in fact has continued to turn a significant profit.) NextEra will also need to get the approval of the Texas Public Utility Commission. The Delaware court could issue a ruling in a few weeks. The PUC has six months to chew over the proposal.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20160729-florida-based-nextera-agrees-to-18.4-billion-deal-to-buy-texas-electricity-giant-oncor.ece
