Anadarko said to have approached Apache with takeover offer
NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. approached Apache Corp. about a combination that would be the largest for an independent U.S. oil and gas producer this year and would create an explorer that pumps more crude than OPEC member Ecuador, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apache rejected an initial proposal from its rival and is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise on its options, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. It’s unclear whether talks will resume, other bidders may emerge, or Anadarko will walk away, the people said.
Representatives for Anadarko and Apache declined to comment. Anadarko sank more than 7% for its worst intraday decline since August. Apache jumped 4.4% before giving back those gains and trading 1.2% lower at $53.30.
“It’s not a good combination in my view, and the market agrees,” said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. “It could be a defensive move by Anadarko to ward off a potential takeover bid. Anadarko has been viewed as a potential target for years.”
In pursuing Apache, Anadarko would acquire a portfolio of fields that contain a higher proportion of crude than its own. Apache’s output is more than 50% oil, compared with just 38% at Anadarko. A combined company would produce about 580,000 bopd, compared with about 530,000 for Ecuador.
Dry Holes
Anadarko, which operates from Mozambique to Wyoming, has struggled to sustain reserves growth even as spending exploded. The company’s exploration failure rate doubled last year; 14% of the wells Anadarko drilled in its search for untapped fields were dry holes, up from about 7% in 2013 and 4.7% in 2012.
Growth in the company’s oil and gas reserves slowed to 2.4% in 2014 from more than 9% in the prior year, despite four consecutive years of double-digit spending increases. During the third quarter of this year, Anadarko lost $817 million on dry holes, a seven-fold increase from a year earlier.
Reserves are accumulations of crude and gas that have yet to pumped out of the ground. For investors, they are an important measure of an energy producer’s ability to generate cash flow in the future.
Though Apache’s shares have been pummeled along with the rest of the industry as commodity prices stay depressed, Apache’s market valuation still means only the biggest energy producers could consider an offer. That stood at more than $18 billion at the Friday close, before Bloomberg reported that a potential buyer had sent the company a letter in the past few weeks about a takeover bid.
Apache is unlikely to sell for less than $70 to $80 a share, Leo Mariani, an oil and gas analyst with RBC Capital Markets in Austin, wrote Tuesday in a research note.
Smaller Loss
Apache last week reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss and boosted its 2015 production forecast. It’s one of the biggest leaseholders in the Permian basin in Western Texas, the largest U.S. shale play and the only one where oil output has continued to grow even as drillers slash spending and idle rigs.
Apache’s stock has risen about 13% Monday, valuing it at more than $20 billion. Anadarko, whose shares have fallen almost 18% this year through Monday, has a market valuation of about $34.5 billion.
Anadarko could use a deal with Apache to fend off potential predators. Bankers and investors have speculated over the past year that the company would be a good fit for Exxon Mobil Corp. and other so-called supermajors seeking to expand their exposure to shale.
