Enron Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

After exhausting its other options, Enron (ENE Quote), once the king of deregulated power markets, pulled the plug Sunday and sought bankruptcy protection, leaving creditors scrambling and investors wondering how its staggering debt will affect trading Monday morning.

With nearly $25 billion in assets, Enron's bankruptcy is one of the largest in corporate history.

The Houston-based energy company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Sunday afternoon. The company also filed suit against Dynegy (DYN Quote), its onetime crosstown rival, for "Dynegy's wrongful termination of its proposed merger with Enron," seeking at least $10 billion in damages. The suit asks the court to void Dynegy's option to acquire Enron's Northern Natural Gas pipeline business, which Dynegy has said it will exercise as a result of the merger termination. ...