Thames poised to bid for Wessex

BRITISH companies were dealing with life after Enron with Thames Water putting itself at the top of the list of bidders for Wessex Water, the Bath-based utility up for sale after the failure of energy giant.

Thames chief executive Bill Alexander indicated his interest in bidding for Wessex after watchdog Ofwat appeared to soften its previous hard line against mergers of water companies. A takeover would create a new super water company stretching across southern England.

City finance houses headed by WestLB and Barclays Capital are also circling Wessex, as a bid by a trade buyer triggers a referral to the Competition Commission - but the Water Bill will relax those rules.

The Enron collapse, however, has complicated BG's planned £264m acquisition of Enron's 30% stake in Indian gas assets it unveiled last month. BG said it had hoped to wrap up a deal by now, but already tricky talks surrounding operating rights on a project involving two Indian firms are further clouded by Enron's financial problems.

Meanwhile, as shock waves from the collapse reverberated through world markets, about 2,000 London workers at Enron Europe's Grosvenor Place offices were preparing for official confirmation from administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers that they will lose their jobs today. 'We all found out that we are going to be losing our jobs on Tuesday,' said Mark Davely, 23, from Stratford, east London. 'People are completely gutted and quite annoyed about the mess that has been made of the company.'

As Congressional investigations continue into the collapse of Enron it has also closed its position on all electricity grids on mainland Europe, and stopped delivering wholesale electricity to its customers in the region early on Friday. The US parent company, a former investment darling, is likely to file for bankruptcy protection early next week.

The London Metals Exchange said the London Clearing House was still guaranteeing deals with Enron's metals trading arm.