Double defensive gas deal offers relative cleaning 6 Sep 2023 Canadian pipeline firm Enbridge wants to reduce dependence on transporting oil. Dominion Energy wants to concentrate on clean electricity. Selling retail gas distribution businesses for $9.4 bln to Enbridge doesn’t directly reduce emissions. But it does make both look cleaner.
Engie gets the gas but without the gearing 8 Apr 2019 The French utility’s $8.6 billion deal to buy Petrobras’ Brazilian gas pipelines enables expansion in one of its core areas. Doing so with Canada’s CDPQ limits the extent it needs to push up its debt. That should help keep its new three-year strategy on the road.
Anti-OPEC bill may squeeze U.S. oil industry 10 Oct 2018 The disappearance of a Saudi journalist is helping to breathe life into a bipartisan effort to subject the cartel to U.S. antitrust law. But it may prove more useful as a threat than reality. America’s energy producers benefit from OPEC’s price-fixing, too.
U.S. oil producers lose grip on global crown 14 Sep 2018 Fields in Texas were meant to help make the country a bigger exporter of black gold than Saudi next year. But pipeline construction is delayed longer just as American inventories are falling. U.S. drillers risk losing control of the market the longer logistics problems linger.
Energy firms stuff MLP minority owners in pipe 17 May 2018 Williams is only offering a 6 pct premium for the quarter of its subsidiary it doesn’t own. Enbridge and Cheniere put even less on the table. The recent loss of some tax breaks makes MLPs less attractive and prompted the moves. But independent shareholders are getting a raw deal.
EQT embarks on ignominious cleanup 21 Feb 2018 The $14 bln gas company’s breakup plan provides simplicity that’s much needed after the purchase of rival Rice. But with three pending transactions – all negotiated separately – shareholders face a tortuous process, run by a management that hasn’t proved it’s up to the job.
Market will trump politics on Keystone pipeline 20 Nov 2017 Nebraska’s green light for the controversial project is a victory for President Trump but doesn’t guarantee it will be built. Years of delays have let rivals steal a march while low prices sap interest in drilling Canadian oil sands. The economic grounds for proceeding are soft.
It’s past time for PetroChina to shed pipelines 31 Oct 2017 China’s largest oil and gas producer reported a 290 pct rise in quarterly earnings. The firm should now spin off its $87 bln pipeline network and share the gains with weary investors. Management might not like a breakup, but fortunately, state planners are here to help.
D.E. Shaw’s rare activist shot falls short at EQT 14 Sep 2017 The hedge fund is calling for a breakup of the natural-gas company, echoing Jana Partners. Yet it’s content to let the company first buy Rice Energy for $6.7 bln despite the deal’s flaws. It’s an unconvincing foray into activism for a fund better known for computerized trading.
Pipeline’s $9.3 bln deal adds gas to energy M&A 1 Feb 2017 Oneok is paying a 22 pct premium for the rest of an eponymous partnership it doesn't own. Dividend hikes and a tax break sweeten the pot. But it's also a sign of a recovering sector. With prices and deregulation hopes rising, it won't be the last deal for either Oneok or rivals.
Williams gets the board fight it deserves 22 Aug 2016 A pushy investor who just quit as a director at the $21 bln U.S. pipeline operator is back with a whole new slate. Because of a deadline, however, the nominees are stand-ins until real candidates can be found. The year of M&A helter-skelter makes this new madness somehow fitting.
Pipeline rebuff could stir activist hornets’ nest 19 Aug 2016 Williams, fresh off a failed merger with Energy Transfer, recently ignored larger rival Enterprise Products' approach about an $80 bln tie-up. The company's silence may prompt two pushy investors who joined a board exodus in June to lobby again to oust CEO Alan Armstrong.
Plains $7 bln swap simplifies only so much 13 Jul 2016 The U.S. pipeline operator is restructuring its MLP arrangement and cutting its dividend to conserve cash. Plains also is collapsing the governance of two separate listed entities under a single board. The group structure nevertheless remains complex and debt levels too high.
Accountability flows from failed pipeline merger 1 Jul 2016 Nearly half of the Williams board – including the chair and two activists – quit after they failed to oust CEO Alan Armstrong. The departing directors supported the pipeline group's collapsed sale to ETE, which Armstrong had opposed. It's an uncommon win for oil-patch governance.
Energy Transfer finds better to be lucky than bad 24 Jun 2016 The U.S. pipeline operator can wriggle out of its disastrous $20 bln takeover of rival Williams. A Delaware judge says a botched tax interpretation by lawyers was a genuine mistake, not part of a scheme to prevent the deal from closing. There may yet be a price to pay, however.
Williams admits stress fracture in $22 bln deal 9 Jun 2016 The U.S. pipeline owner said it may slash its dividend if the sale to Energy Transfer falls through. Despite the buyer’s efforts to renegotiate or wriggle out of the merger, Williams has held firm. The payout warning may be a tactic, but failure until now hasn’t been an option.
TransCanada’s pipeline deal suggests safe now sexy 18 Mar 2016 Buying Columbia for $13 bln bolsters the energy company’s business of transporting gas to the eastern U.S. The seller has ample cash and a backlog of low-risk projects to build infrastructure. That adds up to a prudent investment as markets sour on precarious boom-time assets.
ETE funding for Williams deal widens differences 11 Mar 2016 Stuck with its badly timed $14 bln purchase of rival pipeline group Williams, Energy Transfer has issued convertible stock to shore up its balance sheet. Instead of being reassuring, though, the move exposed divisions between the companies – and left investors more skeptical.
Mooted $11 bln gas deal signals energy M&A thaw 10 Mar 2016 TransCanada’s interest in Columbia may end a dearth in industry tie-ups. Both are among the better-positioned players in a sector where falling oil and gas prices sparked fears about a wave of bankruptcies. Perkier crude may lubricate similar mergers between industry survivors.
U.S. pipeline firms can go with bankruptcy flow 9 Mar 2016 Insolvent oil and gas drillers can shed contracts with companies that move their product, says a N.Y. judge. The ruling may rattle investors who assumed the agreements supplied safe revenue streams. No need to panic, though: The deals will probably be renegotiated, not canceled.