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Reliant Resources reportedly has put its 3.5 GW European generation portfolio back on the block, less than a year after scrapping an earlier sale because bids didn't meet its expectations.

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Bonds Issue Maturity Issuer Amount Offer Type of Coupon (%) Spread to Moody's S&P Book Manager(s) Date ($m) Price Security Bench-Mark 1/9/03 1/15/13 MidAmerican Energy 275 99.783 Notes 5.125 100 A3 A- Bank One/ Lehman 1/13/03 1/15/13 Atmos Energy 250 99.915 Senior Notes 5.125 102 A3 A- Bank One 1/14/03 2/1/08 Commonwealth Edison 350 99.886 Fst Mtg Bonds 3.7 68 A3 A- CSFB/Morgan Stanley 1/14/03 2/1/33 Commonwealth Edison Co 350 99.564 Fst Mtg Bonds 5.875 90 A3 A- CSFB/Morgan Stanley 1/15/03 2/15/06 Pepco Holdings 300 99.891 Notes 3.75 155 Baa1 BBB CSFB 1/15/03 1/15/33 South Carolina Elec & Gas Co 200 99.677 Fst Mtg Bonds 5.8 87 A1 A- BoNY/Morgan Stanley/Wachovia M&A Date Announced Date Effective Target Name Target Advisors Target Country Acquiror Name Acquiror Advisors Acquiror Country Deal Value ($m) 1/9/03 - Ahlstrom 56 MW Power Plant - U.S. Algonquin Power Income Fund - Canada 28 1/9/03 - Dona Francisca Energetica - Brazil Gerdau - Brazil 5.97 1/9/03 - ONEOK Inc J.P. Morgan U.S. ONEOK BofA U.S. 250 1/10/03 - Caelgese - Spain Electrabel - Belgium - 1/10/03 1/10/03 PEC - Poland Stadtwerke Leipzig - Germany - 1/13/03 - Agstar Power - Canada 4033981 Canada Inc - Canada - 1/13/03 1/13/03 Cemig(Minas Gerais) - Brazil N/A - Unknown - Source: Thomson Financial Securities Data Company. For more information, call Rich Peterson at (973) 645-9701.

Stamford, Conn.-based Fortis Capital is aiming to deepen the pool of lenders willing to commit to U.S. renewable energy projects, ahead of what some bankers say will be a steady flow of business this year. "The idea is to broaden lender interest," says Jim Trousdale, assistant v.p. "It is mostly European banks [involved in renewables lending]. You don't see a lot of American banks." As part of the effort Fortis is holding a one-off seminar in New York Jan. 23 that will look to educate lenders on a range of topics from technology to regulation.

Moody's Investors Service has hired Jim Hempstead as a senior credit officer to replace Tucker Hackett, who left the agency a few weeks ago. The role involves rating credits in the power sector, such as Reliant Resources. Hackett's whereabouts could not be determined by press time. Industrial officials say Hempstead was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch in New York and most recently was doing consulting work in Europe. Hempstead declined comment. John Diaz, managing director of the group, was unavailable for comment.

Tractebel North America has financing for its now completed 343 MW gas-fired plant in Ennis, Texas, in its crosshairs again. The funding was kicked around for much of last year, without ever being launched, until leads CoBank and Abbey National Treasury Services stepped down (PFR, 12/9).

Reliant Resources reportedly has put its 3.5 GW European generation portfolio back on the auction block, less than a year after scrapping an earlier sale because of lukewarm interest. Merrill Lynch, which also conducted the previous auction, launched the sale of Reliant Energy Power Generation Benelux (formerly UNA) yesterday and is looking to receive indicative bids by the end of the month, according to one City banker. Sandy Fruhman, a spokeswoman at Reliant in Houston, says she's unaware of any new sale process and was unable to provide further comment immediately. Calls to Suzanne Van Hees, a spokeswoman at Reliant Energy Power Generation Benelux in Brussels, and bankers at Merrill, were not returned.

Dublin-based Electricity Supply Board and its lead arranger Royal Bank of Scotland are looking to close a roughly EUR700 million project-level loan by early next month that will finance the construction of an 800 MW gas-fired power plant in northern Spain. The deal paves the way for the development of Amorebieta, Spain's first independent power plant, says one financier. Sealing the project loan deal will be a significant achievement given the host of other Spanish IPP projects that have stalled over tolling or financing difficulties, note London bankers. Tony Lowe, a banker at RBoS, declined to comment and calls to Kevin MacDermott, an ESB spokesman, were not returned.

Reliant Resources' has begun sounding out its creditors on how to restructure some $5.7 billion in corporate level and synthetic lease-backed debt, a refinancing widely regarded as the pivotal debt deal of the first quarter, given its size. One lender who has been approached about the deal says a tenor of three to five years and pricing in the range of 350-450 basis points over LIBOR is being floated for a $2.9 billion bridge loan expiring mid-February.

Mandated lead arrangersBNP Paribas and Société Générale were set to wrap up retail syndication of InterGen's EUR625 million ($622 million) Rijnmond project financing last Friday, as PFR went to press, with the addition of seven or eight banks. "It has proved slower than expected, what with the extended holiday break and a pretty tough market," notes one official involved in the deal. "But getting any deal done has got to be considered something of an achievement." He declined to reveal the retail participants.