Macquarie Bank Limited has signed an agreement with Sierra Southwest Cooperative Services, Inc., establishing a joint marketing alliance that will initially focus on specialized natural gas transactions.
The alliance will allow Macquarie Bank, through marketing conducted by its New York and Texas Representative Offices, to offer hedges and tailored financial derivatives to Sierra’s retail customers and business associates providing price certainty and risk management in the increasingly volatile natural gas market.
The agreement enables Sierra, a Touchstone Energy(R) Cooperative, to increase its product options and expand its market area nationally.
“We are very excited by the potential of this new marketing alliance with Sierra, who has built an excellent franchise among its customers in Arizona, California and Nevada and is recognized as an innovator within the US cooperative utility sector,” said Simon Grenfell, Global Head of Macquarie Bank’s Energy Markets Division.
“The agreement provides our US energy markets business access to a broad network of customers who will benefit from preferred access to Macquarie Bank’s derivative and risk management expertise in the management of their exposure to natural gas,” he said.
Donald W. Kimball, Sierra’s President and Chief Executive Officer said, “Sierra is extremely pleased to have established this relationship with one of the premier financial institutions in the world. The financial strength and worldwide experience of Macquarie Bank, combined with Sierra’s unique customer relationships and service capabilities creates a formidable entity in a market searching for a retail supplier that can be trusted.”