Longview Cancels Auction

An August 15, 2008 article states that the owners of Longview Pwer, LLC, First Reserve Corp. (90% owner) and GenPower Holdings (10% owner), cancelled the auction of a 49% minority stake in the power plant because several bidders wanted equal control. The article also says that the original financing agreement states that if the ownership changes, First Reserve must pay back $1.15 billion to Goldman Sachs. Now Longview will go for "mezzanine financing." Apparently they had abandoned this type of financing in June due to tight credit. The details are reportedly still being worked out, but they hope to close the new financing in September 2008. The article says Longview is expected to start up 2011, has a guaranteed heat rate of 8,564 Btu per kWh, and has a five-year contract with PPL EnergyPlus for 300 of the plant's 695 megawatts, with the rest being sold on a merchant basis "on the grid" into the western PJM market.