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TRANSLink Management, the company that will run the utility-owned transmission entity taking over some 40,000 miles of transmission lines, will likely look at going public, according to newly-appointed finance chief Kirk Edelman. Edelman says the company, which has yet to begin commercial operation, is focused on getting regulatory approval across the 13 states in which it aims to own assets. Further down the line it may look to broaden its investor base beyond the 10 utilities forming the operation.

Goldman Sachs has reportedly entered exclusive talks to purchase El Paso Corp.'s domestic U.S. power generation portfolio and electricity trading book. The investment bank is conducting due diligence on the portfolio, which consists of ownership interests in some 40 U.S. power plants totaling 3,500 MW, according to an official familiar with the sale process. El Paso is exiting what it has deemed non-core businesses in an effort to shore up its balance sheet. Mel Scott, an El Paso spokesman in Houston, declined comment. Officials at Salomon Smith Barney, which is advising El Paso, did not return calls. A Goldman spokeswoman declined comment.

Virginia Electric & Power, a regulated utility business of Dominion Resources, issued $400 million in 10-year senior unsecured notes last week to pay down debt maturing next month. Richmond-based Vepco has $200 million of debt maturing in April and will likely use the remaining $200 million to repay a portion of the company's $345 million of outstanding commercial paper, says Manuel Borrajo, an analyst at Standard & Poor's that rated the deal. Mark Lazenby, a spokesman at Dominion, was unable to provide comment by press time.

While merger activity in the global energy market declined by a modest 3% last year, U.S. M&A bankers barely got a look in as European dealflow hogged center stage according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Only one of the 10 largest global electricity and gas deals of 2002 was executed on U.S. soil, the rest were strictly European affairs. The North American share of the M&A market fell to 13% from around a third in 2001.

Goldman Sachs has reportedly entered exclusive talks to purchase El Paso Corp.'s domestic U.S. power generation portfolio and electricity trading book. The investment bank is conducting due diligence on the portfolio, which consists of ownership interests in some 40 U.S. power plants totaling 3,500 MW, according to an official familiar with the sale process. El Paso is exiting what it has deemed non-core businesses in an effort to shore up its balance sheet. Mel Scott, an El Paso spokesman in Houston, declined comment. Officials at Salomon Smith Barney, which is advising El Paso, did not return calls. Calls to Goldman were not returned.

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TRANSLink Transmission, the utility-owned company being formed to take over some 40,000 miles of transmission lines in the MidWest, has hired Kirk Edelman to be its cfo. Edelman, who is well known in power finance circles from his days at TD Securities and Dresdner Kleinwort Wassertein, says the company has yet to begin commercial operation. Its current focus is on gaining the necessary regulatory approval for it to take over the transmission assets of five Midwest players such as Xcel Energy, MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy.

Mark Trott, head of power trading at Deutsche Bank in London, resigned Monday. Reached at home in Shoreham, West Sussex, Trott says he plans to take six months to a year away from the market to recharge his batteries. "It's been a superb 10 years [as a power trader], but it's time for a break."

XL Weather & Energy has started offering derivative and insurance-based tools for hedging against power outages and price risk in the natural gas and power markets.

AIG Energy, the Stamford, Conn.-based shop looking to acquire distressed generation assets, is planning to enter the U.K. market and has hired a former Enron Europe board member to lead the push. The subsidiary of triple-A rated insurer American International Group has recruited Mathew Scrimshaw, a 10-year Enron veteran, to build a London-based business and search out investment opportunities in the U.K., according to market watchers. Scrimshaw, reached at home, says he will join AIG on March 17, but declined further comment. He reports to Tony Gordon, head of global energy, who also declined comment.