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ENRON CAPITAL & TRADE RESOURCES FINANCES
BUYOUT OF HARDY OIL & GAS USA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 1996
HOUSTON -- Enron Capital & Trade Resources
(ECT), a subsidiary of Enron Corp., announced today that it is
working with Hardy Oil & Gas USA, Inc., to finance a management-led
buyout offer. The purchase price will be $179 million adjusted
for working capital as of March 31, 1996. Hardy Oil & Gas
plc, based in Great Britain and Hardy USA's parent, has agreed
to the transaction.
ECT will initially provide debt financing
and, together with Hardy USA's management, will also provide
equity financing for the buyout. Hardy USA's current management
will continue to operate the company which focuses on oil and
gas exploration and production onshore Texas and in the Gulf of
Mexico. Current daily production is approximately 60 million
cubic feet of natural gas and 2,200 barrels of crude oil. The
company has established a market niche through its ability to
economically develop small to mid-size reservoirs in deep water.
Hardy USA has successfully completed two deep water sub-sea
tieback projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and is currently developing
a third project at a water depth of 981 feet in Mississippi Canyon
Block 705.
"ECT's alliance with Hardy USA illustrates
the partnering approach we are taking with our customers,"
said Jeffrey K. Skilling, chairman and CEO of ECT. "By financing
this buyout, ECT is supporting management's strategy for growing
Hardy USA. In turn, ECT will share in that growth as the company
strengthens its position as a deep-water developer."
Skilling added that the alliance with Hardy
USA meets ECT's overall strategy as it continues to expand its
financial offerings in the energy industry.
"Hardy USA is pleased with the alliance
it has formed with ECT. As a sophisticated provider of financing
to the energy industry, ECT's support of Hardy USA will help the
company achieve its corporate goals of expansion in the domestic
and international E&P business," says Robert Henderson,
president and CEO of Hardy USA.
The acquisition of Hardy USA remains contingent
upon, among other things, approval by the parent company's shareholders.
ECT is a leading provider of physical and
financial energy products worldwide. The organization is one
of the largest buyers and sellers of natural gas in North America,
with physical and financial volumes of 45 billion British thermal
units of energy equivalent per day. The company also manages
the largest portfolio of fixed-price natural gas risk management
contracts in the world; is the largest independent U.S. power
marketer; is the largest supplier of gas to the electric generation
industry in North America; is among the leading entities arranging
new capital to the North American energy industry; and, through
affiliates, owns and and/or operates two intrastate pipelines
in Texas and Louisiana.
Enron Corp., one of the world's leading
integrated natural gas companies with approximately $13 billion
in assets, operates one of the largest natural gas transmission
systems in the world; is the largest purchaser and marketer of
natural gas and the largest non-regulated marketers of electricity
in North America; produces and markets natural gas liquids worldwide;
owns 60 percent of Enron Oil & Gas Company, one of the largest
independent (non-integrated) exploration and production companies
in the United States; owns 52 percent of Enron Global Power &
Pipelines L.L.C., which is owner and manager of operating power
plants and a natural gas pipeline in emerging markets; and is
one of the largest independent developers and producers of electricity
in the world. Enron Corp. is traded under the ticker symbol,
"ENE."
For additional information please contact:
Diane Bazelides
(713) 853-6285
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