Entergy and Koch consider selling energy trading business

New Orleans-based Entergy Corporation and Wichita's Koch Industries today said they are considering selling their energy trading business Entergy-Koch Trading (EKT).

Houston-based EKT is a 50/50 joint venture between energy company Entergy and privately held industrial conglomerate Koch. An Entergy spokesman said there was presently no timeline for the potential sale and declined to comment on bids or the value of the company.

Entergy and Koch are currently "conducting a broad review of strategic alternatives for enhancing the value of Entergy-Koch and its subsidiaries", Stewart said. And this review includes maintaining the current ownership structure, adding one or more owners to the venture or modifying the current ownership structure, Stewart added.

If a third-party sale does materialise, Entergy and Koch may also sell their 8,000 Gulf South Pipeline company that could fetch up to around $1 billion.

EKT, with around 700 employees, is one of the largest energy trading companies in the US and Europe. It trades power, natural gas, US air pollution credits and weather derivatives.

The company, unlike many of its competitors, remained largely immune from the energy trading scandals following Enron's demise. In April last year, however, EKT received a subpoena from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission seeking information on its natural gas and power trading activities. This came just two weeks after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulator accused the company of making 61 so-called wash trades, designed to inflate the size of the company's trading book. So far no action has been taken against EKT.