Kinder Morgan deal at the centre of price fixing court battle
Rich Kinder, the Kinder Morgan founder who on Sunday unveiled a $44bn consolidation of a family of companies to create the US’s third-largest energy company, owes no small part of his $10bn-plus personal fortune to a 2006 deal that is now at the centre of a courtroom battle.
Kinder Morgan’s 2006 take-private deal is now under scrutiny in a lengthy US court case, brought by disaffected public company shareholders that allege private equity groups conspired to fix prices on eight buyouts by agreeing not to compete against each other by “jumping” on their rivals’ deals.
The plaintiff’s complaint presented to the Massachusetts district court provides a series of insights into the Kinder Morgan deal.
It shows that Mr Kinder and his backers were able to secure Kinder Morgan at an attractive price of $107.50 per share without a single competing offer, even though the price was below the value recommended by the special committee Kinder Morgan’s board set up to evaluate offers.
Source: ft
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