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Progress Energy's $440 million facility funding 2,500 MW of additional capacity is close to closing, after the deal was reworked with a tolling arrangement, according to one banker who signed up for a ticket. Company officials were tight-lipped on how the deal was reworked (PFR, 1/28), but the banker explains the deal, as originally pitched by J.P. Morgan, was primarily a merchant deal. After struggling in syndication, Progress has now entered a tolling agreement with the projects, the banker says. He adds the deal is expected to close this week. Proceeds are being used to fund the construction of five natural gas-fired plants.

Earlier this month Phoenix-based Pinnacle West Capital ditched plans for a $150 million two-year callable floating-rate note issue in favor of a fixed-rate deal after underwriters sounded out investors. "The appetite was not there," says Barb Gomez, treasurer, referring to investor interest for the floating and callable structure. However, she notes that making the switch to a fixed 4.5% coupon met with strong demand and allowed the company to upsize the deal by $65 million to $215 million.

Bonds ssue Date Maturity Issuer Amount ($mil) Price Type of Security Coupon (%) Moody's S&P Bookrunner(s) 02/07/02 Perpet. Produtores Energ. de Manso 7.7 Market Cvt Sub Debs na . . BANCO-PROSPER 02/08/02 02/26/07 Transco PLC(Lattice Group PLC) 13.7 100.326 FRNs Floats A2 A COMMERZBANK 02/12/02 02/15/13 Duke Capital 500 99.709 Senior Notes 6.25 A3 A BARCLAYS/BANK ONE 02/12/02 02/15/32 Duke Capital 250 98.997 Senior Notes 6.75 A3 A BARCLAYS/BANK ONE M&A Date Announced Date Effective Target Name Target Country Acquiror Acquiror Country Value ($mil) 02/07/02 . Enron Power Philippines Philippines MidAmerican Energy U.S. . 02/07/02 . E.on Hydropower Operations Austria OEL-Hydropower Ops Austria . 02/07/02 02/07/02 Northern Electric-Wind Power U.K. LE Group U.S. 4.950 02/07/02 . Shenzhen Gas China Towngas Hong Kong . 02/11/02 02/11/02 Edasz Rt Hungary Magyar Beteiligungs Germany . 02/13/02 . Jihoceska Plynarenska Czech Republic Oberoestereichische Ferngas Austria 8.871 02/13/02 . Redal Morocco Vivendi Group France 39.429 Source: Thomson Financial Securities Data Company. For more information, call Rich Peterson at (973) 645-9701.

Enron is close to selling Enron Wind, its wind turbine manufacturing arm. A spokesman at Enron in Houston says the trading giant could make an announcement this week. He declined to comment on the likely price or buyer, but one banker says fellow turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems is being tipped as the favorite to win the auction. He adds that half a dozen companies have bid for Enron Wind. Calls to Vestas in Ringkøbing, Denmark, were not returned.

Of all the independent power producers presenting their corporate plans at the conference, bankers and analysts gave Peter Cartwright, chairman, and ceo of Calpine, the toughest grilling.

American Electric Power is looking to add generating capacity in northeastern Mexico along the Texan border, according to Tom Shockley, vice chairman and coo.

Vinita, Okla.-based Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) plans to tap the capital markets in early March with a $116 million bond offering through lead underwriter Lehman Brothers and co-managers A.G. Edwards and Oppenheim Inc., a regional securities firm based in Oklahoma City. Henry Neftzger, treasurer and cfo, says $86 million of the proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and the remainder earmarked to add generating capacity and maintain existing facilities.

Citibank and J.P. Morgan last week launched a $1.5 billion bridge facility for Southern California Edison, with Barclays Bank,TD Securities andUnion Bank of California signed up for $150 million sub-underwriting tickets. The two leads have fully underwritten the loan to the tune of $750 million a piece, says one syndicate official.

Although El Paso is looking to sell generation capacity to shore up its balance sheet and improve its credit rating, Ralph Eads, president of El Paso Merchant Energy, told attendees the Texan power giant will also pursue a concurrent strategy of snapping up generation assets because of the low valuations. "Despite [of] our plan to strengthen our balance sheet, we are looking for new assets. It's a buyer's market right now and it is a good opportunity for us to buy plants," he said.

Cinergy is looking to unload its entire 1 GW international generation portfolio and is in active discussions with several bidders about a trade sale. Joseph Toussaint, v.p. of marketing and operations at the Cincinnati-based energy concern, told PFR the divestiture program is aimed at redistributing more resources to its core Midwest utility business and domestic merchant-trading effort. Proceeds will also be used to pay down debt to strengthen the company's balance sheet. He declined to elaborate on details of the sale or set a price tag on the diversified portfolio.