One KKR official resigns Energy Future Holdings board, 2 others remain

In a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing on Friday, EFH said Lipschultz notified the board on Jan. 17 of his resignation “effective immediately.”

Two other KKR representatives, Jonathan Smidt and Brandon Freiman, remain as members of EFH’s 13-member board.

EFH for months has been trying to restructure about $40 billion in debt with various classes of creditors. The company may face bankruptcy, though it is in the midst of negotiations with creditors on a consensual restructuring.

A key question in the negotiations is how much equity value, if any, KKR and its fellow equity owners will retain in the restructured EFH. KKR, TPG Capital Management and Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm led the consortium that created EFH through a $45 billion buyout of Dallas-based TXU Corp, the largest-ever leveraged buyout.

Lipschultz, who had been on the board since the buyout, did not give a reason for his departure, and no replacement has been named, an EFH spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for KKR did not return a call seeking comment.

Nick Brown is a reporter for Reuters News in New York