Natural gas distributor Williams Cos. (WMB) will receive roughly
$312 million in cash through 2016 as part of the completed sale of
assets to Venezuela's state oil company.
Williams and joint venture partner Exterran Holdings Inc. (EXH)
were among the foreign companies affected in 2009 by a
nationalization drive in Venezuela that targeted dozens of
oil-services companies.
Exterran, which is involved in natural-gas compression and is a
provider of oil-and-gas equipment, reported Sunday it would receive
roughly $112 million in connection with the sale, proceeds of which
it plans to use to repay debt.
Williams under the sale received an initial payment of roughly
$84 million in cash. The company also said it garnered roughly $63
million from Venezuela's state oil company, commonly known as
PdVSA, in connection with a previous sale agreement.
The remaining $165 million or so is payable in periodic cash
payments through the first quarter of 2016.
In connection with the sale, Williams also said it was dropping
arbitration against Venezuela pending full payment of the purchase
price for the nationalized assets.
Williams last month reported it swung to a fourth-quarter loss,
mostly on writedowns related to its former exploration and
production business.
Shares closed Friday at $30.18 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is up 12% since the start of the year.
-By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207;
mia.lamar@dowjones.com