 Enron used the missing director (it now only had 2 of 4 seats on the Board) and its reduced stake (52%) to claim that it no longer controlled EPE and therefore did not have to consolidate EPE on its balance sheets.This move allowed Enron to mark-to-market a portion of a related gas contract and post a $65 million mark-to-market income for the second half of 1999.Later, Enron mysteriously bought back the stake for a loss of approximately $3 million, despite the fact that the plant's construction had bogged down even more in the intervening time.