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VI. OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH LJM

In addition to Rhythms and the Raptors, Enron and the LJM partnerships engaged in almost twenty transactions from September 1999 through July 2001, when Fastow sold his interest in LJM2 to Kopper.⁶² Many of these transactions illustrate well the difficulty Enron encountered, and failed to resolve, when it engaged in related-party transactions with the LJM partnerships.

On the surface, these transactions appear to be consistent with Enron's purpose in permitting Fastow to manage the partnerships: Enron sold assets to a purported third party without much difficulty, which permitted Enron to avoid consolidating the assets and record a gain in some cases. But events after many of these sales-particularly those that occurred near the end of the third and fourth quarters of 1999-call into question the legitimacy of the sales themselves and the manner in which Enron accounted for the transactions. In particular: (1) After the close of the relevant financial reporting period, Enron bought back five of the seven assets sold during the last two quarters of 1999, in some cases within three months; (2) the LJM partnerships made a profit on every transaction, even when the asset it had purchased appears to have declined in market value; and (3) according to a presentation Fastow made to the Board's Finance Committee, those transactions generated, directly or indirectly, "earnings" to Enron of $229 million in the second half of 1999. (This figure apparently includes the Rhythms

⁶² A timeline of Enron's transactions with the LJM partnerships appears at Appendix B.

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transaction, but we have not been able to confirm Fastow's calculation.) Enron recorded $570 million total in pre-tax earnings ($549 million after tax) for that period.

There is some evidence that Enron employees agreed, in undocumented side deals, to insure the LJM partnerships against loss in three of these transactions. There are also plausible, more innocent explanations for Enron's repurchases. What seems clear is that the LJM partnerships were not simply potential buyers of Enron assets on par with other third parties. Rather, Enron sold assets to the LJM partnerships that it could not, or did not wish to, sell to other buyers. The details of six transactions follow.

A. Illustrative Transactions with LJM

1. Cuiaba

In September 1999, Enron sold 1LJM1 a 13% stake in a company building a power plant in Cuiaba, Brazil. This was the first transaction between Enron and LJM I after the Rhythms hedge. This sale, for approximately $11.3 million, altered Enron's accounting treatment of a related gas supply contract and enabled Enron to realize $34 million of mark-to-market income in the third quarter of 1999, and another $31 million of mark-to-market income in the fourth quarter of 1999. In August 2001, Enron repurchased LJM1's interest in Cuiaba for $14.4 million.

As of mid-1999, Enron owned a 65% stake in a Brazilian company, Empresa, Productora de Energia Ltda ("EPE"), with a right to appoint three directors. A third party owned the remainder, with a right to appoint one director. Enron's Brazilian business unit wanted to reduce its ownership interest, but had difficulty finding a buyer, in part

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because the plant was experiencing significant construction problems. In June 1999, Glisan, who reported to Fastow, advised the employee handling the sale effort that LJM1 would purchase an interest in EPE.

This employee negotiated the transaction with LJM1 on behalf of Enron. It is indicative of the confusion over roles that a second employee, whom the first employee believed was negotiating on behalf of LJM1, says she too was functioning as an Enron employee. The second employee, who worked in Enron Global Finance and reported to Fastow, said she believed she was an intermediary between the other Enron employee and Fastow, and that Fastow negotiated for LJM L

The transaction was effective September 30, 1999. The terms were that UM1 would pay Enron $11.3 million for a 13% interest in EPE and certain redeemable preference shares in an Enron subsidiary. LJM1 also would have the right to appoint one member of EPE's Board of Directors. LJM 1 granted Enron the exclusive right to market LJM1's interest to other buyers. If the sale occurred before May 9, 2000, LJM1's return would be capped at 13%, and Enron would keep any excess amount. If the sale occurred after May 9, 2000, LJM1's return would be capped at 25%.⁶³

Enron took the position that, as a result of the decrease in its ownership interest, it no longer controlled EPE and was not required to consolidate EPE in its balance sheet. This permitted Enron to mark-to-market a portion of a gas supply contract one of its

⁶³ The date at which the cap increased was later extended to August 9, 2000, for a $240,000 fee paid to LJM1.

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subsidiaries had with the project, enabling Enron to realize a total of $65 million of mark-to-market income in the second half of 1999.

After the sale to LJM 1, the Cuiaba project encountered serious technical and environmental problems. Despite the fact that the value of the interest purchased by LJM1 likely declined sharply due to these problems, Enron bought back LJM1's interest on August 15, 200 1, for $14.4 million. The price was calculated to provide LJM I its maximum possible rate of return. This was not required by the terms of Enron's agreement with LJM I, which had set a maximum, not a minimum, amount that LJM1 could earn on its investment.

We were told two reasons why Enron paid this amount. The Enron employee who negotiated the buy-back said that it had become critical to Enron to gain back the board seat controlled by LJM1. He said that LJM1 had not appointed a director due to liability concerns, which left only three board members. Disputes had arisen between Enron and the third party because of cost overruns, and the third party's director could stymie action merely by leaving Board meetings and denying the Board a quorum. Skilling told us that he was not surprised that Enron bought the interest back because personnel in Enron's Brazilian subsidiary had made misrepresentations to LJM I in connection with the original sale, and that he would have authorized a buyback with any outside party under these circumstances.

On the other hand, the Enron employee reporting to Fastow who participated in the negotiation of the original transaction told us that Fastow had told her there was a clear understanding that Enron would buy back LJM1's investment if Enron were not

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able to find another buyer for the interest. We are not able to resolve the differences in recollections. LJM 's equity investment could not have been "at risk" within the meaning of the relevant accounting rule if Enron had agreed to make LJM I whole for its investment. In that case, Enron would have been required to consolidate EPE, and could not have recognized the mark-to-market gains from the gas supply contract.

2. ENA CLO

On December 22,1999, Enron North America ("ENX) pooled a group of loans receivable into a Trust. It sold approximately $324 million of Notes and equity, providing the purchasers certain rights to the cash flow from repayment of the loans. The securities representing these rights are known as collateralized loan obligations ("CLOY). There were different classes, or '1ranches," of these securities, representing an order of preference in which the tranches were entitled to repayment. The tranches were rated by Fitch, Inc., and marketed to institutional investors by Bear Steams.

The lowest-rated tranches - those with last claim on the repayments of the loans in the pool - were extremely difficult to sell. It is our understanding that no outside buyer could be found. Eventually, the lowest tranche of Notes was sold to an affiliate of Whitewing (an investment partnership in which Enron is a limited partner) and LJM2. The equity tranche, which was last in line on claims to the funds flow, was bought by LJM2 for $12.9 million. LJM2 paid a total of $32.5 million for its investment. The investors in Whitewing (in which LJM2 also held an interest) were required to approve its purchase of the Notes. An Enron employee who worked on the transaction told us that

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the head of the ENA finance group told one of the Whitewing investors that if the Notes defaulted, Enron would find a way to make the investor whole.

Two days before LJM2 paid $32.5 million for its interests in the CLO's Notes and equity, another Whitewing affiliate loaned LJM2 $38.5 million. This loan agreement was signed on behalf of the Whitewing affiliate by an Enron employee who had assisted in the effort to sell the CLO tranches. The employee told us she does not recall the loan transaction. We are unable to determine whether the loan was intended to fund UM2's acquisition of the CLO securities, although the amount and timing is suggestive. This may cast doubt on the economic substance of LJM2's investment.

This CLO sale did not result in recognition of income by Enron because Enron carried the loans at fair value. However, because the loans were sold without recourse to Enron, Enron was no longer subject to the credit exposure. The loans in the CLO Trust performed very poorly; shortly after being transferred into the CLO Trust, several loans defaulted. On September 1, 2000, Enron provided credit support to the CLO Trust by giving it a put option with a notional value of $113 million. Enron did not charge the CLO Trust a premium for this option. A substantial portion of the risk related to this put option-which did not exist until September 1, 2000--was "hedged" in Raptor 1, effective August 3, 2000.

The put option proved insufficient to support the CLO because the loan portfolio continued to deteriorate. In order to protect its reputation in the capital markets, in May and July 2001 Enron repurchased all of the outstanding Notes at par plus accrued interest. Enron also repurchased LJM2's equity stake at cost.

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This transaction provides additional evidence (1) of a general understanding that LJM2 was available to purchase assets that Enron wished to sell but that no outside buyer wished to purchase; (2) that Enron would offer the financial assistance necessary to enable LJM2 to do this; and (3) that Enron protected LJM2 against suffering any loss in its transactions with Enron.

3. Nowa Sarzyna (Poland Power Plant)

On December 21, 1999, Enron sold to LJM2 a 75% interest in a company that owned the Nowa Sarzyna power plant under construction in Poland. Enron did not want to consolidate the asset in its balance sheet. While Enron had intended to sell the asset to a third party or transfer it to an investment partnership it was attempting to form, Enron was unable to find a buyer before year-end. Enron settled on LJM2 as a temporary holder of the asset. LJM2 paid a total of $30 million, part of it in the form of a loan and part an equity investment. Enron recorded a gain of approximately $16 million on the sale.

When this transaction closed, it was clear this would be only a temporary solution. The credit agreement governing the debt financing of the plant required Enron to hold at least 47.5% of the equity in the project until completion. Enron was able to obtain a waiver of that requirement, but only through March 31, 2000. It was unable to obtain a further waiver and, after the plant malfunctioned during a test, Enron was unable to find a buyer for LJM2's interest. On March 29, 2000, Enron and Whitewing bought out LJM2's equity interest and repaid the loan for a total of $31.9 million. This provided IJM2 approximately a 25% rate of return.

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4. MEGS

On December 29, 1999, Enron sold to LJM2 a 90% equity interest in a company, MEGS LLC, that owned a natural gas gathering system in the Gulf of Mexico. Enron had attempted to sell this interest to another party, but was unable to close that transaction by year-end. Closing the transaction by the end of the year would enable Enron to avoid consolidating the asset for year-end financial reporting purposes. LJM2 purchased a $23.2 million note of MEGS for $25.6 million and an equity interest in MEGS for $743,000.

The parties apparently expected to find a permanent buyer within 90 days. The terms of the sale gave Enron an exclusive right to market the LM interest for that period of time, and capped LJM2's return on any such sale at a 25% rate of return.

We were told that early reports indicated that the gas wells feeding the gathering system were performing above expectations. On March 6, 2000, Enron (though a different subsidiary) repurchased LJM2's interests. It paid LJM2 an amount necessary to give it the maximum allowed return. Subsequently, Enron recorded an impairment on the gas wells in 2001 due to diminished performance.

The decision to buy back LJM2's interests in MEGS was reflected on a DASH. Jeff McMahon, then Enron's Treasurer, at first declined to sign. Under the signature block he wrote: "There were no economics run to demonstrate this investment makes sense. Therefore, we cannot opine on its marketability or ability to syndicate." McMahon told us he did not see any sense in Enron purchasing this asset, which would simply add to Enron's balance sheet and provide only a very modest return.

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5. Yosemite

In November 1999, Enron and an institutional investor paid $37.5 million each to purchase all the certificates issued by a trust called "Yosemite." In late December, Enron determined that it needed to reduce its holdings of the Yosemite certificates from 50% to 10% before the end of the year. This was so that it could avoid disclosing its ownership of the certificates in its "unconsolidated affiliates" footnote to its 1999 financial statements on Form I O-K. The plan, apparently, was for an affiliate of Whitewing, called "Condor," ultimately to acquire the Yosemite certificates Enron was selling. But for reasons that are unclear-and that none of the Enron employees who we interviewed could explain-Enron did not feel it could sell the certificates directly to Condor. Enron needed to find an intermediate owner of the certificates.

With only a short time before year-end, the Enron employees responsible for selling the Yosemite certificates believed they had no real option other than to offer the certificates to LJM2. They approached LJM2, which apparently insisted on a very large fee-$I million or more-for LJM2 to purchase the certificates before reselling them to Condor. The Enron employees, believing that some fee was appropriate for LJM2's services, offered $100,000. Fastow then called one of the employees to complain that he was negotiating too hard about the fee, and that he was holding up a transaction that was important for Enron to complete before year-end. The employee went to McMahon, his supervisor. McMahon says he confronted Fastow about pressuring the employee. Following this discussion, LJM2 retreated and the deal closed with Enron paying the fee it originally offered.

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Even apart from Fastow's intervention, the transaction itself is unusual in several respects. First, it was widely understood that LJM2 was involved simply to hold the Yosemite certificates briefly before selling them to another entity. The LJM2 Approval Sheet (which was not prepared until February 2000) clearly states, with emphasis in the original, that "LJM2 intends to sell this investment to Condor within one week of purchase." Second, the legal documents show Enron selling the certificates to LJM2 on December 29, 1999, and then LJM2 selling the certificates to Condor the next day, December 30, 1999-thus disposing of the certificates before year-end. It is not clear how this would achieve Enron's financial disclosure goals. Finally, the actual transaction does not appear to have occurred in late December 1999 but, instead, on February 28, 2000. The transaction involved Condor loaning $35 million to LJM2, which then immediately used the proceeds to purchase the Yosemite certificates from Enron, which LJM2 immediately passed on to Condor, which resulted in the original loan to LJM2 being repaid. In other words, Condor bought the certificates from Yosemite, with the money and certificates passing-ever so briefly-through LJM2. For that, LJM2 earned $100,000 plus expenses.

6. Backbone

In the late 1990s, Enron Broadband Services ("EBS") embarked on an effort to build a nationwide fiber optic cable network. It laid thousands of miles of fiber optic cable and purchased the rights to thousands of additional miles of fiber. In mid-May 2000, EBS decided to sell by the end of the second quarter a portion of its unactivated "dark" fiber. There was substantial pressure to close the transaction so that

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EBS could meet its second quarter numbers. With the quarter-end approaching, the EBS business people felt they had no choice other than to approach LJM2.

The proposed terms called for EBS to remarket the fiber after LJM2 purchased it, and capped LJM2's return on the resale at 18%. Initially, Kopper negotiated on behalf of LJM2. But as the negotiations were nearing a conclusion in late June, Fastow inserted himself in the process. He was angry that EBS proposed to sell LJM2 dark fiber that was not certified as usable, and that it might take as long as a year for it to be certified. He first confronted EBS' general counsel, Kristina Mordaunt, the former general counsel to Fastow's group and his recent partner in the Southampton Place partnership. Fastow complained to her that EBS was the most difficult business unit with which to negotiate. Fastow then complained directly to two of the lead negotiators for EBS, telling them that EBS was putting LJM2 in a difficult position by selling it uncertified fiber.

Fastow's involvement caused great distress for the EBS team. They understood that their job was to get the best deal possible for Enron, but driving a hard bargain for Enron drew the ire of Enron's CFO. The EBS team went to Causey and Ken Rice, the CEO of EBS, for assistance. Together, they decided to accommodate Fastow's concern by sweetening EBS' original offer by providing LJM2 with a 25% capped return if EBS did not resell the fiber within two years. Ultimately, the transaction closed on those terms, with LJM2 promised an 18% capped return if Enron resold the fiber within two years, and a 25% capped return if Enron sold the fiber after two years. The additional term did not come into play because the fiber was sold within two years.

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The EBS business people involved in the transaction believe they obtained a good result for EBS notwithstanding Fastow's intercession. Enron recorded a $54 million gain as a result of the transaction with LJM2. Moreover, we are told that all the fiber ultimately was sold later for cash (or letters of credit) to substantial industry participants. Nonetheless, the episode illustrates well the fundamental dilemma of the Company's CFO serving concurrently as the managing partner of a business transacting with the Company.

Finally, this transaction is notable for one other reason. It is the only LJM transaction in which Lay signed the DASH and LJM2 Approval Sheet.

B. Other Transactions with LJM

Enron engaged in several other transactions in 1999 and 2000 with the LJM partnerships. A majority of these transactions involved debt or equity investments by LJM in Enron-sponsored SPEs. These SPEs owned, directly or indirectly, a variety of operating and financial assets. These transactions also included direct or indirect investments by LJM in Enron affiliates. The effect on Enron's financial statements from these transactions varied. The dates, amount of LJM's investments, and summary descriptions of these transactions are provided in the following table:

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