Enron Corp. Chairman Ken Lay told Wall Street analysts and investors the company plans to divest up to $5 billion in assets over the next two years in order to support its plummeting stock price. Included among the assets are Portland General Electric, which the company has been trying to unload for more than a year, some unnamed power plants on the West Coast, the company’s generation interests in India, and some energy businesses in Puerto Rico and Brazil. Enron also may be in talks to sell its wind turbine business, which represents a 6% share of the world market for installed wind turbines.

Enron’s stock has dropped from highs of $90/share to $32.36 Wednesday on harsh investor reaction to the California energy crisis, the value decline in the entire energy sector, the “meltdown” of Enron’s broadband business and former CEO Jeffery Skilling’s unexplained departure last month. The downfall of Enron’s stock came despite its 20% average annual growth rate and projections of substantial earnings growth over the next two years.

Enron’s $3.1 billion sale of Portland General to Sierra Pacific Resources fell apart when the California energy crisis complicated negotiations. Scottish Power, which owns PacifiCorp, now may be a potential suitor.

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