M&A

Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Completes Acquisition of Indigo, Reboots 2021 Guidance
September 2, 2021September 2, 2021

In early June Southwestern Energy Company announced it would no longer be a pureplay Marcellus/Utica driller. Southwestern said it was buying Indigo Natural Resources, which drills for natural gas in the Louisana Haynesville Shale, for $2.7 billion (see Southwestern No Longer M-U Pure-Play, Buys Haynesville Driller $2.7B). The deed is now done. Southwestern issued an updated version of its guidance for 2021 in light of adding Indigo’s extensive assets to its own.
Read More “Southwestern Completes Acquisition of Indigo, Reboots 2021 Guidance”
Industrywide Issues | M&A

Money & Drilling Flow from Marcellus/Utica to Haynesville
August 18, 2021August 18, 2021

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While the mighty Marcellus/Utica continues to produce the most natural gas of any shale play in the U.S. (actually of any shale play in the world), the simple truth is the money and momentum for new shale gas drilling is happening in the Louisiana and East Texas Haynesville shale play. Which wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that much of the new investment in the Haynesville is coming from M-U drillers!
Read More “Money & Drilling Flow from Marcellus/Utica to Haynesville”
Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Chesapeake Energy Buys Haynesville Driller Vine Energy for $2.2B
August 12, 2021August 12, 2021

Chesapeake announced yesterday it will buy Haynesville driller Vine Energy for $2.2 billion–mostly by trading or issuing shares of stock (payment will be 92% in stock, 8% in cash). The Reuters rumors were right: interim CEO Mike Wichterich will either go big or go bust with his mission to expand Chesapeake. We hope it’s not the latter since Chesapeake still owns a huge amount of assets in the northeastern PA Marcellus. Is Chesapeake making the same mistake it made under the leadership of Doug Lawler when Lawler got a wandering eye and purchased WildHorse Resource Development Corp in the Eagle Ford Shale (see Chesapeake Now Gone from Ohio Utica; Spends $4B in Eagle Ford)? We don’t think so. This time is different. You can’t blame Chesapeake for expanding outside the Marcellus/Utica–they have a good reason for looking elsewhere…
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Buys Haynesville Driller Vine Energy for $2.2B”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Cimarex Talks About Cabot Merger on 2Q Conference Call
August 6, 2021August 6, 2021

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In May MDN told you about one of the oddest combinations in recent memory–the merger of Permian driller Cimarex Energy with Marcellus driller Cabot Oil & Gas (see HUGE NEWS: Permian Driller Cimarex Buying Out Cabot Oil & Gas). Given the negative reaction by stock analysts and investors, we had hoped maybe the deal would fall apart (see Markets “Baffled” by “Unexpected” Cabot Merger with Cimarex). Cimarex delivered its 2Q21 update yesterday and judging from the talk on the conference call with analysts, the deal is still very much on and will close later this year.
Read More “Cimarex Talks About Cabot Merger on 2Q Conference Call”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Analyst: Cimarex Will Use Cabot as Cash Cow to Grow Permian
July 9, 2021July 9, 2021

An analyst writing on the Seeking Alpha investors website confirms our concerns over the potential merger between Marcellus driller Cabot Oil & Gas and Permian driller Cimarex Energy (see HUGE NEWS: Permian Driller Cimarex Buying Out Cabot Oil & Gas). From the beginning when the deal was first announced, we voiced concerns that Cabot’s Marcellus program may become the second sister in a merged company. The SA analyst agrees…
Read More “Analyst: Cimarex Will Use Cabot as Cash Cow to Grow Permian”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Statewide WV | UGI Energy Services | West Virginia

PA’s UGI Still Trying to Buy WV’s Mountaineer Gas Company
July 8, 2021July 8, 2021

Back in January MDN told you that UGI Corporation, one of Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas utility companies, wants to buy Mountaineer Gas Company, one of West Virginia’s largest natural gas utility companies, for $540 million (see PA’s UGI Corp. Deal to Buy WV’s Mountaineer Gas Company). UGI serves 700,000 customers across PA (and one county in Maryland). Mountaineer serves 215,000 customers across WV. Both companies are big buyers of Marcellus/Utica shale gas.
Read More “PA’s UGI Still Trying to Buy WV’s Mountaineer Gas Company”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Energy Buying Pioneer Energy Services for $295M
July 7, 2021July 7, 2021

Patterson-UTI Energy, which operates 15 active rigs in the Marcellus/Utica (out of 45 active M-U rigs, or fully one-third of all active M-U rigs) announced yesterday it is buying a smaller competitor, Pioneer Energy Services Corp., for approximately $295 million. Patterson will add Pioneer’s fleet of 16 super-spec drilling rigs to Patterson’s own current fleet of 150 super-spec drilling rigs in the U.S. What are super-spec rigs?
Read More “Patterson-UTI Energy Buying Pioneer Energy Services for $295M”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Cimarex CEO Reworks $32M Stock Deal – Cabot Merger Still On
July 6, 2021July 6, 2021

Thomas Jorden

In May MDN told you about one of the oddest combinations in recent memory–the merger of Permian driller Cimarex Energy with Marcellus driller Cabot Oil & Gas (see HUGE NEWS: Permian Driller Cimarex Buying Out Cabot Oil & Gas). Given the negative reaction by stock analysts and investors, we had hoped maybe the deal would fall apart. Given the recent development that Cimarex CEO Thomas Jorden is potentially turning down $32 million in payouts from the deal (he’s staying on as CEO of the combined company), it sure seems like this deal is likely to happen.
Read More “Cimarex CEO Reworks $32M Stock Deal – Cabot Merger Still On”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Cabot & Cimarex Merger Explained: Love the One You’re With
July 1, 2021July 1, 2021

More details have emerged from what has to be one of the oddest combinations in recent memory–the merger of Permian driller Cimarex Energy with Marcellus driller Cabot Oil & Gas (see HUGE NEWS: Permian Driller Cimarex Buying Out Cabot Oil & Gas). As we told you in a follow-up to the big news, many stock analysts and investors are baffled by the combo (see Markets “Baffled” by “Unexpected” Cabot Merger with Cimarex). Due to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, we now have more insight into what led to the odd combination. Cabot considered a three-way merger last year, and Cimarex held talks and considered five different potential merger partners before settling on Cabot.
Read More “Cabot & Cimarex Merger Explained: Love the One You’re With”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Rice Energy

Dan Rice Launches Another Energy-Focused SPAC – Rice-a-RONI
June 18, 2021June 18, 2021

Last December Dan Rice IV, former CEO of Rice Energy and member of the EQT board of directors, launched a “blank check” acquisition firm, called Rice Acquisition Corp., to invest in various energy ventures. Dan found that something-to-invest-in just a few months later in the form of acquiring and merging together Archaea Energy and Aria Energy into a single company focused on providing renewable natural gas (RNG) and “green” hydrogen (see Dan Rice Bets $1 Billion that Landfill Gas is the Next Big Thing). With that deal about to consummate in 3Q, Dan is on the prowl again. He’s formed and launched a second “blank check” company, called Rice Acquisition Corp. II, along with a cool stock ticker symbol: RONI. As in, Rice (a) RONI. Get it?
Read More “Dan Rice Launches Another Energy-Focused SPAC – Rice-a-RONI”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Keystone Clearwater Solutions | Lycoming County | M&A | Pennsylvania

Keystone Clearwater Buys ECM Energy’s PA Water Transport Biz
June 15, 2021June 15, 2021

Keystone Clearwater Solutions, a company that provides water services for shale drillers in the Marcellus/Utica, is buying the Pennsylvania operations of competitor ECM Energy Services. Keystone, which operates primarily in Pennsylvania, is picking up ECM’s Williamsport, PA operation and rebranding it under the Keystone name. ECM says the sale frees them up to concentrate on their operations in Ohio and West Virginia.
Read More “Keystone Clearwater Buys ECM Energy’s PA Water Transport Biz”
Alta Resources | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | M&A

EQT Shareholders Vote July 16 on $2.9B Deal to Buy Alta Resources
June 14, 2021June 14, 2021

Toby Rice, CEO of EQT

A little over a month ago MDN brought you the big news that the voraciously hungry EQT is gobbling up the Marcellus assets of yet another driller, Alta Resources, for $2.9 billion (see EQT Buys Alta Res. PA Assets for $2.9B in “Transformative” Deal). We later told you the company is floating $1 billion in new notes to help fund the deal (see Why Did EQT Buy Alta for $2.9B? Floats $1B in IOUs to Finance Deal). Where will the other $1.925 billion come from? By floating 105,306,346 new shares of EQT common stock. Shareholders will meet on July 16 to vote on the deal to buy Alta’s Marcellus assets, including the plan to float new stock.
Read More “EQT Shareholders Vote July 16 on $2.9B Deal to Buy Alta Resources”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Southwestern Energy

Southwestern No Longer M-U Pure-Play, Buys Haynesville Driller $2.7B
June 3, 2021June 3, 2021

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The trend is disturbing–at least for us. Increasingly companies that were formerly focused 100% on the Marcellus/Utica region are now expanding beyond–often in the Haynesville Shale of Louisiana. Let’s face it: Louisiana (and eastern Texas) where the gassy Haynesville is found has several advantages over the M-U, including closeness to Gulf Coast petrochemical plants, better (lower) taxes, and far more favorable (less burdensome) regulations than M-U states. Southwestern Energy (SWN), which recently bought out and merged in Montage Resources (another M-U driller) is now buying out and merging in Indigo Natural Resources–in the Haynesville Shale.
Read More “Southwestern No Longer M-U Pure-Play, Buys Haynesville Driller $2.7B”
Crestwood Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | M&A | Pipelines

Crestwood/Con Ed Sell Stagecoach Gas to Kinder Morgan for $1.2B
June 2, 2021June 2, 2021

Crestwood Equity Partners and Consolidated Edison, Inc. (Con Edison) yesterday announced they are selling their 50/50 joint venture in Stagecoach Gas Services to pipeline giant Kinder Morgan for $1.225 billion in cash. Stagecoach consists of four natural gas storage facilities and 185 miles of natural gas pipelines located in the Marcellus/Utica with multiple interconnects to major interstate natural gas pipelines, including Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary.
Read More “Crestwood/Con Ed Sell Stagecoach Gas to Kinder Morgan for $1.2B”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

What Does Cimarex Purchase of Cabot Mean for the Marcellus?
June 2, 2021June 2, 2021

Last week we shared the bombshell news that Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the premier drillers in the Marcellus, is merging with (being acquired by) Permian driller Cimarex Energy (see HUGE NEWS: Permian Driller Cimarex Buying Out Cabot Oil & Gas). We followed that story up with reaction by the markets, which (at the time) was one of bafflement (see Markets “Baffled” by “Unexpected” Cabot Merger with Cimarex). Now that analysts have had a week or so to digest the news, some are speculating on what this news may mean for the larger Marcellus region. The broader implications.
Read More “What Does Cimarex Purchase of Cabot Mean for the Marcellus?”
Diversified Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Diversified Expands Outside M-U Again, Buys Blackbeard in Barnett
May 27, 2021June 3, 2021

Diversified Gas & Oil recently changed its name to Diversified Energy. Along with the name change came a strategy change. Until last month Diversified had concentrated on building the company by buying older (mature) oil and gas wells in the Appalachian Basin. In April the company announced it is branching out beyond Appalachia for the first time with a purchase of ~780 net operated wells and leases in the Cotton Valley/Haynesville region of Lousiana for $135 million (see Diversified Expands Beyond Appalachia First Time, Buys La. Assets). Barely a month later and they’ve done it again, this time buying assets in the Barnett Shale.
Read More “Diversified Expands Outside M-U Again, Buys Blackbeard in Barnett”