The acquisitions and divestitures (A&D) market stumbled into April blinded by the flash of a super major’s deal.
Briefly, hopes raised were among executives and analysts that deals would open up. But the bid-ask spread, even in a down oil market, still appears too wide.
On April 8, Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS-A, RDS-B) said it was acquiring global oil and gas producer and LNG trader BG Group Plc. for $70 billion. That’s nearly 10 times the amount of all deals in the first quarter of 2015, according to a report by Mark Young, senior analyst, Evaluate Energy.
The deal market remains slow, with flickers of E&P activity only just emerging.
Former Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) CEO Aubrey McClendon has launched a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), according to BMO Capital Markets.
The company, called Avondale Acquisition Corp., is raising $200 million in an IPO for acquisitions in the oil and natural gas industry. McClendon is chairman of the SPAC's board and currently its sole owner. After the IPO, he will retain a 20% stake. McClendon also oversees American Energy Partners LP and various subsidiaries, with holdings in the Utica, Permian Basin and elsewhere.
The SPAC plans to sell 20 million units in its IPO for $10 each. Each unit will consist of one share and one-half a stock-purchase warrant with an exercise price of $11.50.
Synergy Resources Corp. (NYSE: SYRG) is also among companies that, despite lackluster deals, are actively engaging the market. The company is hunting in the Wattenberg.
“Recently, chatter around larger M&A opportunities has picked up and SYRG notes on/off discussions with interested parties have recently resumed,” said Mike Kelly, senior analyst, Global Hunter Securities. “With $264.5 million of available liquidity at February-end, we believe SYRG remains poised to execute on a potentially meaningful transaction in the Wattenberg should an attractive opportunity arise.”
But overall, deals just won’t go.
Globally, oil and gas M&A tumbled to $7.1 billion in the E&P sector, a 79% fall compared to the value in the first quarter of 2014 and a drop of 85% compared to the average value per quarter since the start of 2009.
In the U.S., midstream buyers have scratched off $28.2 billion in deals since January, compared to E&P’s $1.7 billion in disclosed transactions, according to A-Dcenter.com data.
“Even though the oil price is resting at attractive levels right now for buyers, it’s clear that this quarter has come too early for many to make opportunistic acquisitions,” Young said. “Companies will doubtless feel the squeeze as time goes by, and the second quarter of 2015 will inevitably be a time when we see an increase in distressed sales.”
Private companies are showing more signs of life, though, he said.
Unburdened with the need to satisfy shareholders, private companies have become relatively more prominent during the first quarter of 2015.
“During the past five years, private companies have accounted for 10% of the total publicly disclosed oil and gas deal value,” he said. “In the first quarter of 2015, however, private companies accounted for $4.1 billion of corporate and asset acquisitions, representing a significant 58% of the total global deal value.”
Private equity companies have also made an impact in the market. Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) and LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) received a non-binding commitment from private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners for up to $1 billion in acquisition spending power.
Nevertheless, the shale sector suffered worst quarter in five years. Its production is cited as leading to falling oil prices.
“The comparatively short life cycle of shale wells makes this industry sensitive to short-term economics, and dramatic changes are already being seen,” Young said. “Whereas 12 months ago oil and gas companies were clamoring to secure rigs to drill new wells in oil plays, many of those rigs are now sitting redundant.”
The oil rig count in the Bakken has dropped 51% and in the Eagle Ford 31%. The effect of the price downturn on deals in the shale industry has been a three-month stretch with the lowest amount of shale deals since the first quarter of 2009, $0.4 million, compared with an average quarterly value of $8.9 million during the past five years.
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