Contact Energy’s 27.7 % stake in Southern Hydro is sparking buyer interest, although Southern Hydro has not yet turned in a profit.
Contact’s holding is being sold to meet Australian regulatory requirements, following a deal in which Edison Mission of the US became Contact’s controlling shareholder.
Edison already owns and operates a competing station producing 1000MW of power, almost twice the capacity of the ten hydro stations operated by Southern Hydro.
Among the prospective buyers for Contacts’s stake in Southern Hydro are Infratil of Australia, which owns 50.2% of Southern Hydro.