Enron to Sell HQ on Bankruptcy Anniversary

HOUSTON -- Two years after Enron went bankrupt, the rented oval-shaped glass tower that the company calls home is going on the auction block, The Associated Press reported.

Interested buyers whose bids are deemed acceptable will attend an auction Tuesday at the Houston headquarters -- two years to the date after Enron collapsed amid a string of damaging revelations of hidden debt and inflated profits.

Enron spokesman Eric Thode said Wednesday the highest bid will be presented to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez in New York for approval. A sale is expected to close early next year, coinciding with the relocation of the roughly 1,000 workers still at Enron's headquarters to smaller digs in Houston.

A partnership of banks, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., one of Enron's largest creditors, owns the building, which has an appraised value of $92.5 million. Proceeds of the sale will be divided among those lenders.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 12/1/03