Sempra Energy Trading Buys Former Enron Unit

Sempra Energy Trading, the commodity trading subsidiary of Sempra Energy, has acquired the Liverpool, England-based Henry Bath Ltd., and subsidiaries, which provide warehousing services for non-ferrous metals in Europe and Asia. The companies were purchased from Enron and Dipankar Ghosh of PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the joint administrators of Enron Europe.

The cost of the purchase was $24 million, and is subject to adjustment based on a final audit of the net assets.

Henry Bath Ltd. and its subsidiaries store about 18 percent of all non-ferrous metals held in the LME-approved warehouses. The group operates warehouses in nine locations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore and Spain.

In early February, Sempra Energy Trading completed the purchase of Enron Metals Ltd., the leading metals trader on the London Metals Exchange, and announced an agreement last month to acquire the metals concentrates business of Enron Metals & Commodity Corp.

“This third acquisition strengthens Sempra Energy Trading’s metals product line by adding warehousing capabilities at strategic locations worldwide,” said David Messer, president of Sempra Energy Trading. “Now we will be able to offer clients not only a wide variety of non-ferrous metals and metals concentrates, but also the capacity to store them at locations around the globe.”