Last week MDN reported that Vantage Energy, a Colorado company with major operations in the Marcellus, was once again attempting to float an initial public offering of stock (see Vantage Energy Tries New IPO After Striking Out 2 Yrs Ago). Must be that was a clever fake-out move because yesterday Rice Energy announced they are buying Vantage in a deal worth $2.7 billion. Included in the deal are 85,000 acres of Marcellus leases in Greene County, PA. Also included, another 52,000 acres of Utica Shale leases. Oh! And 37,000 acres of leases in the Texas Barnett Shale–meaning Rice is about to lose its laser focus on the Marcellus/Utica and will no longer be a “pure play” company. The deal instantly elevates Rice’s production predictions for 2017 by 70% over the previous guidance given. In order to pay for the deal, Rice also announced they are floating a new massive round of stock, 40 million shares, which they hope will bring in something over $1 billion in cash. Here’s the details…
