Chevron buying Anadarko for $33B as crude prices rise

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Chevron. Cropped Photo: Tim Parkinson / CC BY 2.0

Chevron will buy Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion in a cash-and-stock deal as the company seeks to grow stronger in deep water exploration in the gulf and the energy-rich southwest region of Texas called the Permian Basin.

The deal, announced Friday, arrives with U.S. crude prices up 40% this year.

The companies put the enterprise value of the deal at $50 billion.

“This transaction builds strength on strength for Chevron,” said Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth. “The combination of Anadarko’s premier, high-quality assets with our advantaged portfolio strengthens our leading position in the Permian, builds on our deep water Gulf of Mexico capabilities and will grow our LNG business.”

The LNG Wirth referred to is liquefied natural gas. With the deal announced Friday, it gets access to Anadarko’s LNG operations in Mozambique. The combined company will also control a 75-mile-wide corridor across the Delaware basin, just beside the Permian Basin, a region bountiful with natural gas that has been exploited through shale drilling.

Chevron plans to divest $15 billion to $20 billion of assets between 2020 and 2022, with proceeds being used to lower debt and to return additional cash to shareholders, the company said.

With savings the companies plan to book and rising cash flow, Chevron said it will bump up annual stock buybacks to $5 billion, from $4 billion a year, once the transaction is complete.

Anadarko shareholders will receive 0.3869 shares of Chevron and $16.25 in cash for each share they own, or $65 per share. Chevron will issue about 200 million shares and pay approximately $8 billion in cash. It will also assume about $15 billion in debt.

Chevron Corp. will keep its headquarters in San Ramon, California. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is based in The Woodlands, Texas.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year. It still needs approval from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. shareholders and regulators.

Shares of Anadarko jumped 30.3% before the market opened, while Chevron’s stock fell 3.2%.

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