Fortifying the activities of one of the top natural gas marketing firms in North America with solid financial backing, American International Group Inc. subsidiary AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIG-FP) said late last week that it has signed an agreement to purchase a 50% partnership interest in Tenaska Energy’s natural gas marketing companies — Tenaska Marketing Ventures, Tenaska Marketing Canada and Tenaska Gas Storage — known collectively as TMV. Financial terms were not disclosed.

AIG-FP said the new joint venture will combine its financial strength and financial structuring and risk management capabilities with the physical natural gas marketing expertise of Tenaska, which ranks “among the top ten gas marketing companies in North America.”

According to NGI‘s Top North American Gas Marketers list for 3Q2006, Tenaska is the tenth largest marketer, moving 4.3 Bcf/d of natural gas. For a list of the full rankings going back to 1996, visit https://intelligencepress.com/features/rankings/gas/.

Under the terms of the agreement, AIG-FP and Tenaska will jointly guarantee the venture’s payment obligations.

“Tenaska is an excellent partner with a strong and scalable business,” said Doug Poling, AIG-FP executive vice president — energy and transaction development groups. “This partnership represents a natural and significant extension of AIG-FP’s commodities business into the physical commodities arena. We are confident that Tenaska and AIG-FP will succeed in drawing on the complementary skills of one another as they identify opportunities for product innovation and revenue growth, consistent with each company’s disciplined approach to risk management.”

Founded in 1987, AIG-FP was one of the first companies focused principally on the derivatives markets in the United States. The company is active in a full spectrum of OTC derivative and structured products markets, including commodities, credit, energy, equities, foreign exchange and rates. The company provides clients with corporate finance, investment, and financial risk management solutions.

“Our new partnership with AIG-FP will strengthen and grow TMV’s position in the energy marketplace, and allow us to provide our customers with a broader array of products and financial services,” said TMV President Fred Hunzeker. “TMV customers will see no change in our basic approach to business as we continue to focus on providing value and managing their risk.”

The companies that make up TMV are affiliates of Omaha-based Tenaska Energy, one of the leading independent power producers in the United States. TMV provides natural gas commodity, volume management, hedging and asset management products and services.

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