In early 2009, Cypress Associates was retained by the office of the Attorney General of New Hampshire on behalf of the State to assist it in evaluating the financial feasibility of a proposed 99 megawatt $275 million wind power project to be located in Coos County, NH. The project is being sponsored by Granite Reliable Power, LLC (“Granite Power”), a company established and majority owned by Noble Environmental Power, a renewable energy company founded in 2004.
Cypress provided expert testimony on Granite Power/Noble Environmental’s business and financial plan, especially focused on their ability to complete the project financing during a period of severe stress in the financial markets. We were the “publics” financial advisor and expert financial witness at New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee hearings in direct testimony and cross examination. As a result of our work product and testimony, Granite Power materially augmented the financial strength of the project.
Inergy LP’s operations include a natural gas storage business in Texas and an NGL supply logistics, transportation, and wholesale marketing business that serves customers in the United States and Canada. Inergy is also engaged in the development and operation of a natural gas and NGL storage and transportation business in the Northeast region of the United States.
Case description: Alleged excess purchase price and breach of fiduciary duty by the Board of Directors of Inergy L.P. in connection with its acquisition of its General Partner, Inergy Holdings
Cypress was offered as an expert witness on behalf of the Defendant with respect to Master Limited Partnerships, the valuations of Inergy L.P. and Inergy Holdings and the appropriate acquisition exchange ratio. The case settled.
ETP owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy assets. ETP’s natural gas operations include approximately 12,000 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, with an aggregate throughput capacity of 7.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, and includes natural gas treating and processing assets located in Texas and Louisiana. ETP is also the fourth largest retailer of propane in the United States, serving more than 700,000 customers from coast to coast.
Titan Energy Partners (formerly Cornerstone Propane Partners) was one of the largest retail propane marketers in the US, the Company consists of retail propane operations conducted in 146 locations in 33 states. For fiscal year 2005, Titan sold more than 200 million gallons of propane to over 325,000 customers. It operates primarily through its Titan Propane unit.
Cypress advised Energy Transfer Partners, LP (ETP) in connection with the acquisition of Titan Energy Partners LP. The purchase price of $549.7 million included the payoff of long-term debt. This transaction was accretive at a value of approximately $0.10 to $0.15 per common ETP unit.
Orion suffered a major explosion and fire in early 2003. The resulting damages and business interruption losses totaled more than $150 million.
As a result of the fire, Orion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2003 and emerged approximately a year later. Cypress was hired as liquidating trustee in mid-2004.
Cypress worked with refinery process engineers to counter Orion’s insurers’ arguments on the size of Orion’s claim. Cypress was able to negotiate on increase from the insurers’ offer of approximately 40% of Orion’s claim to almost 90% of the claim.
Orion had sold its refinery during the bankruptcy to Valero. In addition to cash, part of the consideration received was Valero preferred stock and an earn-out based on crack spreads. Cypress created an auction for the earn-out and sold it for $136 million. Cypress also organized the sales of blocks of the preferred shares.
