Nov 18 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc said on Wednesday it was prepared to buy Energy Future Holdings Corp's distribution business, the bankrupt power company's crown jewel, potentially disrupting an agreed deal led by Hunt Consolidated. Energy Future Holdings, or EFH, is in the midst of a weeks-long trial to confirm its plan of reorganization, which is built around a sale of the power distribution business, known as Oncor, to creditors and Hunt. That deal has been valued at around $19 billion. "NextEra is currently prepared to consummate an alternative transaction," the Juno Beach, Florida-based company said Wednesday in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. "NextEra's alternative transaction is the only proposal that can provide several significant benefits to Oncor, its customers, its creditors and EFH." A spokesman for EFH declined to comment. The Hunt plan is built around the expectation that Oncor can be converted into a real estate investment trust, which would create value by lowering potential taxes. Dallas-based EFH also plans to spin off power plants and its retail electric utility business to creditors, although there is a risk those spin-offs could trigger a big tax bill. If U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi approves EFH's plan, the Hunt deal still faces several regulatory hurdles that opposing creditors say raise the risk Hunt could walk away. NextEra said its plan has a higher chance of success thanks in part to a strong balance sheet. NextEra has been a familiar party in EFH's bankruptcy, which is aimed at cutting more than $42 billion in debt. In the middle of 2014, NextEra upset EFH's original turnaround plan by making an unsolicited proposal for Oncor, the largest power distribution business in Texas. In June of this year, EFH's negotiations with its creditors about an Oncor deal were stalled and the power company approached NextEra about increasing its potential bid, according to NextEra's court filing. NextEra said at that moment market conditions prevented it from making the bid it could make today. Energy Future was formed after the 2007 record buyout of TXU Corp led by KKR & Co, TPG Capital Management and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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