Oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum has announced its intension to terminate the $50bn merger agreement signed with Chevron, as it considers the $57bn takeover bid offered by Occidental Petroleum.
Image: Aerial view of Anadarko Petroleum's headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Photo: courtesy of Trey Perry (talk)/Wikipedia.
The board of directors of Anadarko unanimously determined that the Occidental Petroleum’s proposal is superior compared to its pending acquisition by Chevron.
Anadarko now plans to sign a definitive merger agreement with Occidental Petroleum in connection with the revised takeover proposal.
Occidental president and CEO Vicki Hollub earlier said: “Occidental and Anadarko have a highly complementary asset portfolio, providing us with a unique opportunity to realise significant operating, cost, and capital allocation synergies and achieve near-term cash flow accretion.”
If the deal advances, the combination of Occidental and Anadarko Petroleum would create a more than $100bn global energy company with around 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d) of production. It would also make Occidental the largest producer in the Permian basin with 533 thousand boe/d of production.
The firm said in a statement: “Pursuant to the Chevron Merger Agreement, Chevron has the right, during the four business day period ending on May 10, 2019, which may be extended in accordance with the terms of the Chevron Merger Agreement, to propose revisions to the terms of the Chevron Merger Agreement, or to make another proposal.”
Upon termination of the Chevron Merger Agreement, if any, Anadarko will pay $1bn in termination fee to Chevron.
Recently, French oil and gas giant Total has enter into an agreement with Occidental Petroleum to acquire the African assets of Anadarko Petroleum for $8.8bn.
Total, however, will proceed with the deal should Occidental Petroleum sign and complete its $57bn takeover of Anadarko.
Occidental Petroleum expects the proceeds of the sale of the non-strategic assets in Africa to partly fund its proposed acquisition of Anadarko.
Under the term of the agreement, Total proposes to buy Anadarko’s assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa, which represent a combined 2P reserves of about 1.2 billion boe.