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(Reuters) – Hawaii Electric Industries is talking with restructuring advisors to address financial and legal challenges over its potential liabilities in the wake of the wildfires in Maui, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The report, quoting people familiar with the matter, said the utility company is in discussions about strategies it can pursue and whether it needs to hire legal and financial advisors.
Hawaii Electric did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Inventories are down 55% so far this week amid mounting scrutiny over whether the utility company’s equipment played any role in the deadly wildfires.
It lost nearly $730 million in value on Tuesday, as the share price hit its lowest level since 2009.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded Hawaiian Electric to “BB-” on Tuesday and placed it on watch for further downgrades, citing damage to its customer base and class action lawsuits filed against the company it claims is responsible for the fires.
The cause of the wildfire, which has killed at least 99 people and devastated the coastal town of Lahaina on Maui, is still under investigation. (Reporting by Surasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)