Two activists target Sempra

Article Excerpt

SEMPRA ENERGY $115 (New York symbol SRE; Utilities Sector; Shares outstanding: 273.5 million; Market cap: $31.5 billion; Dividend yield: 3.1%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.sempra.com) distributes electrical power and natural gas to over 45 million customers in Southern California, Texas, Chile and Peru. It also builds and operates gas pipelines, storage facilities and renewable energy projects. Activist investment firms Elliott Management and Bluescape Resources together hold 4.9% of Sempra. They want the company to sell its Latin American utilities and spin off a liquefied natural gas business. So far, Sempra has resisted that pressure. However, it plans to sell its U.S. wind and solar assets and some natural gas storage facilities. The company also recently announced that it expects costs related to a major leak in 2015 at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility near Los Angeles will total $1.01 billion. That’s up from its earlier estimate of $954 million. About 55% of those costs were for the temporary relocation of residents who live near…