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Enron to sell wind power unit to General Electric

Bankrupt energy trading firm Enron Corp said on Wednesday it agreed to sell its wind turbines business to General Electric Co.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but a source close to the deal said General Electric will pay about $250 million.

The sale must be approved by a bankruptcy court judge and regulators. Enron said proceeds will be used to repay creditors.

General Electric said the proposed acquisition marked its first investment in wind power, an industry which it expects to grow at an annual rate of some 20 per cent.

"This acquisition will broaden the environmentally friendly, power generation options available to our customers," said John Rice, president of General Electric Power Systems.

General Electric sees Europe, the United States, and Latin America as the main markets for wind-generated electricity.

General Electric Power Systems will acquire Enron Wind Corp's wind turbine manufacturing and marketing operations. Wind farms owned or operated by Enron are not part of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

Enron Wind has manufacturing plants in the United States, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands and also has 11 sales offices in various countries around the world.

In connection with the planned sale to GE, Enron Wind will file a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Enron Wind is based in Tehachapi, California, and has 1,600 employees worldwide. It was not included in Enron's December 2 bankruptcy filing.

The unit's revenues have grown from about $50 million when it was acquired by Enron in 1997 to some $750 million in 2001.

Analysts had generally expected Enron Wind to be sold to a European company such as Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems, or German-Danish wind turbine maker Nordex AG.

European companies dominate wind turbine manufacturing, reflecting public policies in many European countries that promote the use of wind power. Enron Wind is the world's seventh biggest wind turbine manufacturer.

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