PG&E shares seesaw amid report it may avoid bankruptcy
PG&E shares traded in tight range on Monday after multiple reports alternately lifted and then lowered the stock.
Earlier Monday, shares were up more than 20 percent on a report that an investor group has offered the embattled utility giant $4 billion to avoid bankruptcy. But by the afternoon, shares were only slightly higher.
The company was expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week following the aftermath of both the 2017 and 2018 fires.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCG | PG&E CORP. | 17.01 | +0.05 | +0.29% |
However, according to Bloomberg News, those plans may be halted after an unnamed investor group offered the company a $4 billion alternative plan to keep afloat.
While a spokesperson for PG&E would not comment to FOX Business on the rumors, its shares slipped in afternoon trading erasing its earlier gains after the California Public Utilities Commission said it will hold an "emergency commission"at 5:30pm Eastern time.
What's more, last week, PG&E shares skyrocketed-- at one point more than 77 percent -- after California investigators cleared the utility giant of blame for a 2017 conflagration known as the Tubbs Fire.
The bump came a few days after the California-based power company lined up $5.5 billion to fund its bankruptcy process, which it is rumored to be filing this week.
While investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection cleared the embattled company of liability for the Tubbs Fire, it has already determined that the utility's equipment was liable for at least 17 other major fires that year.
"Regardless of today’s announcement, PG&E still faces extensive litigation, significant potential liabilities and a deteriorating financial situation, which was further impaired by the recent credit agency downgrades to below investment grade," the company said in a statement last week.
"Resolving the legal liabilities and financial challenges stemming from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires will be enormously complex and will require us to address multiple stakeholder interests, including thousands of wildfire victims and others who have already made claims and likely thousands of others we expect to make claims."
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Investigators are still determining whether PG&E will be found liable for California's worst wildfire, the Camp Fire, which killed more than 80 people in November. On Monday, the California insurance commissioner said claims for the deadly November wildfire has topped more than $11.4 billion.