BHP Chief Says Petrohawk Deal Valued By Reserves, Not Stock
July 14 2011 - 11:05PM
Dow Jones News
BHP Billiton Ltd's (BHP) US$12.1 billion bid for Petrohawk
Energy Corp. (HK) should be valued against the gas and oil assets
in the ground rather than the U.S. shale gas company's share price,
the chief executive of BHP said Friday.
Exploration companies in the oil and gas space attract higher
takeover multiples that established companies where "upside" is
capped, Marius Kloppers said during a conference call.
BHP, which Kloppers said has been scouting for shale gas
opportunities for the last 18 months to two years, earlier Friday
said it has agreed to pay US$38.75 a share for Petrohawk, which
operates three leading shale gas and oil operations in the U.S. The
all-cash offer represents a 65% premium to the Houston-based
company's closing share price Thursday.
Kloppers said he is confident BHP can add value to Petrohawk due
to the cost at which the Anglo-Australian company can raise funding
and the speed it can develop the assets. The offer price recognizes
the value of Petrohawk's opportunities, and the deal is expected to
be accretive to earnings per share in the first full year after
completion, he said.
Kloppers said he doesn't believe there are any material
regulatory barriers to the transaction in place.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 3 9292 2094;
robb.stewart@dowjones.com
Halcon Resources (NYSE:HK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Halcon Resources (NYSE:HK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024