Klage erst verdaut ist....
Monday December 3 11:41 AM ET
Dynegy Countersues Enron, Stock Slides
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of power
trader Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN - news)
fell as much as 13 percent on Monday, as
it sought to defend itself from a $10 billion
lawsuit filed the previous day by collapsed
rival Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE - news).
Calling Enron's case frivolous, Dynegy filed
a countersuit seeking to protect its option
to buy Enron's Northern Natural Gas
Pipeline, which it exercised last week after
backing out of an agreement to buy Enron.
Dynegy shares fell $2.20, or 7.25 percent,
to $28.15 on the New York Stock
Exchange (news - web sites) late on
Monday morning. Earlier, the shares were
as low as $26.30.
Enron, which sought protection from its
creditors in bankruptcy court on Sunday,
filed a simultaneous suit seeking damages
from Dynegy for breach of contract and
wrongful termination of the merger deal. It
said Dynegy has no right to the
16,500-mile pipeline.
Dynegy won the option to the pipeline
when it gave Enron $1.5 billion upon the
announcement of their merger deal on Nov. 9. Dynegy exercised the
option last Thursday, the day after the merger fell apart.
Dynegy's stock has lost more than 25 percent of its value since the
merger announcement, hitting lows unseen since March of 2000.
The stock's decline, however, was not poised to last into the long term
as Dynegy's fundamentals remain strong, an analyst said.
``Anyone that has a $10 billion lawsuit slapped on them is going to
make a lot of people nervous,'' said Thomas Hamlin, an analyst with
Wachovia Securities.
``We view the slide in the price as a good buying
opportunity... Dynegy is a very strong company.'' Dynegy said it filed its countersuit in Houston, where both companies
are based, against several Enron subsidiaries that are not in bankruptcy.
Watson said Dynegy would seek damages from Enron for its lawsuit,
which Dynegy Chairman and Chief Executive Chuck Watson called
``frivolous and disingenuous.''
Shares of Enron, which the NYSE said on Monday were under review
due to its bankruptcy filing, were up 10 cents at 36 cents by late
Monday morning. They are down from a high of more than $90 in
August 2000
Gruß Dr. Broemme
