Message-ID: <18526371.1075851912539.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 03:01:00 -0700 (PDT) From: louis.soldano@enron.com To: larry.campbell@enron.com Subject: story Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Louis Soldano X-To: Larry Campbell X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Larry_Campbell_Nov2001_1\Notes Folders\Personnal X-Origin: CAMPBELL-L X-FileName: lcampbe.nsf fyi ---------------------- Forwarded by Louis Soldano/ET&S/Enron on 08/27/99 09:59 AM --------------------------- Bret Reich 08/27/99 07:25 AM To: Louis Soldano/ET&S/Enron@Enron cc: Subject: story This is real comforting! Enron/TransCanada -2: Analyst Calls Deal 'Unlikely' Dow Jones Energy Service - 08/26/1999 (Copyright (c) 1999, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Enron Corp. isn't pursuing a purchase of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., a spokesman for Enron said Thursday. "There's absolutely no truth to the rumor that Enron wants to buy TransCanada," Mark Palmer, a spokesman for Enron, told Dow Jones Newswires. TransCanada operates a natural gas pipeline that runs from Alberta to eastern Canada. It also operates the Nova Gas system, an intraprovincial gas gathering and transportation pipeline in Alberta. Ordinarily Enron could not comment on rumors about a possible acquisition because of Securities and Exchange Commission rules, Palmer said. But the company can comment if such rumors are having an effect on the stock price, he added. The rumor has circulated since last month. Raymond Niles, an analyst who follows Enron for Schroders&Co. Inc, put out a report Thursday morning attributing "recent (Enron) stock price weakness" to the rumor. Niles' report said it would be "highly unlikely" that Enron would buy TransCanada. Enron's gas pipeline business accounts for less that 15% of the company's total earnings, Niles said. Enron's management has said in the past that it doesn't "need to own its existing pipeline system to grow its core energy marketing business." In the last two years, he said, Enron has moved to reduce its interest in non-core businesses such as gas pipelines. Enron is also minimizing its investments in hard assets, Niles said in his report. The company has made investments in strategically located power generating assets, but "it's plan is to keep capital investments to a minimum ... and monetize existing assets."