With a less than a month to go before an ownership standstill agreement expires on 17 October, the board of AlintaGas will be looking to end the uncertainty surrounding the 45 per cent stake held by WA Gas Holdings.
"Aquila's financial perils are not just a sideshow. It is prejudicing the value of our stock and is going to increasingly curb our ability to provide decent returns for all our shareholders," a senior AlintaGas official is reported to have said.
"As a strategic investor they added very little value. All they have done is take out management fees under the OSA (operating service agreement)."
Like other US energy firms in wake of the Enron collapse, Aquila has come under pressure from rating agencies to clean up its balance sheet. While Aquila has done a good job of disposing about $US1 billion worth of non-core assets, it still hasn't decided whether to exit the Australian market. It has however put its NZ assets up for sale.
A standstill agreement included in the AlintaGas privatisation process precludes Aquila and United dealing in their AlintaGas stock for two years.
Overlaying the AlintaGas situation are protracted negotiations between AMP Henderson and Aquila on unwinding the Power Partnership venture through which they control United Energy. The parties have been unable to agree on price.
