Buffett bets on energy with bid for Texas utility

New York

THE fate of a giant Texas power company that has spent nearly a decade in financial distress lies in a potential battle between two billionaires.

On one side is Warren Buffett, who has agreed to pay US$9 billion in cash for the utility operator, Energy Future Holdings. On the other is Paul Singer, the hedge fund mogul whose firm is the biggest creditor of Energy Future - and is exploring making its own takeover bid for the company, which has spent more than three years in bankruptcy proceedings.

A fight between the two would serve as the latest source of tumult for a company mired in financial and legal…