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Cascade Investments, the investment vehicle of Bill Gates based in Kirkland, Wash., is mulling the fate of Optim Energy, its Texas operating company that owns 1.18 GW and was formerly a joint venture with PNM Resources.
Cascade officials traveled to New York in January to hear pitches from a coterie of investment banks as they began to evaluate how to move forward with Optim, industry officials say. Options included a full divestiture and possibly a refinancing paired with a hedge on the power as a way to mitigate the merchant exposure. The team has not yet made a decision, says one banker, who expects that word could come shortly.
The decision that Cascade is making is not just which advisor to use, the banker notes,...