NPDC councillors last night unanimously agreed on the short-list, with Mayor Peter Tennent saying he was confident of achieving a satisfactory final offer for the council's 38.16% holding in Powerco.

"Once we get to this point, we'll be able to take our eggs out of the single basket that is Powerco and spread them within a managed investment portfolio.

"PriceWaterhouseCoopers advise us that this portfolio will give greater diversity, reducing the risk invariably associated with a solitary investment, while ensuring that we at least maintain the dividend income levels we currently receive from Powerco, for the long term benefit of the community."

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which is handling the sale process for the NPDC, Taranaki Electricity Trust and Powerco Wanganui Trust - will now conduct further work on refining the short-list of indicative bids selected.

All short-listed bidders had asked for confidentiality, Tennent added.

Any buyers of the combined NPDC-TET-PWT 53.6% stake must also launch a full takeover offer for Powerco and final binding bids for this country’s largest electricity and second largest gas distributor are expected early next month.