Anadarko to buy two gas cos for $21bn

NEW YORK: Anadarko Petroleum said on Friday that it has agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources in separate cash deals totalling $21.1bn.

“We are creating a combined company with industry-leading positions in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and the Rockies, two of the fastest-growing oil and natural gas producing regions in North America,” Anadarko chief executive officer Jim Hackett said in a statement.

Anadarko said that it had agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee for $16.4bn, or $70.50 a share, as well as the assumption of $1.6bn debt and other liabilities.

Anadarko’s offers represent a 40% premium to Kerr-McGee’s closing stock price of $50.30 on Thursday.Anadarko also agreed to acquire Western Gas for $4.7bn, or $61 a share, plus the assumption of $600m of debt and other liabilities.

The offer for Western Gas represents a 49% premium to its closing price of $40.9 on Thursday. Anadarko said that it will finance the acquisitions through a $24-bn, 364-day committed acquisition facility provided by UBS, Credit Suisse and Citigroup.

Hackett said Anadarko will conduct a thorough review of the consolidated assets to select divestiture candidates, with the dual goals of paring acquisition-related debt and refocusing the portfolio.