Field of PGW bidders narrows
The Nutter administration was mum on what firms were among the final bidders for the nationals largest city-owned utility.
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THE FIELD of eligible bidders seeking to buy Philadelphia Gas Works has been narrowed from 30 companies, the Nutter administration announced yesterday, though a spokesman wouldn't say by how much.
Mayor Nutter's press secretary, Mark McDonald, told the Daily News that there have been further developments in the potential sale of the nation's largest municipally owned gas utility, and that "qualified parties" now have "much more detailed information about the company."
"We've now gone to the next level and reduced that number to a number that - for competitive reasons - we're not able to disclose," said McDonald.
Final bids would be due in January, with terms tentatively finalized by sometime in February. Thereafter, the proposal would need approval of City Council and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
"Based on the research done by our advisers and the indicative bids we've gotten, we think there's a strong case for the sale of the company," said McDonald.
The city has said that PGW could fetch more than $1.5 billion. Nutter wants to use the proceeds from a sale to shore up the city's underfunded pension system.