Demise of Biggest Buyout Poised to Put Oncor in Play: Real M&A

The prospective bankruptcy filing of Energy Future Holdings Corp., taken private in the biggest leveraged buyout in history, is poised to put the most profitable unit of the power producer up for grabs.

Oncor Electric Delivery Co. may eventually end up in the hands of hedge funds and other investors who then could sell it to a utility buyer if bankruptcy proceedings unshackle it from Energy Future, according to debt researchers Gimme Credit LLC and CreditSights Inc. Power companies from Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. to CenterPoint Energy Inc., Exelon Corp. and American Electric Power Co. may jump at the chance to bid for the operator of the largest transmission and distribution system in Texas, said Moody’s Investors Service.