FourPoint’s Latest Anadarko Deal Far From Last, CEO Says

Finding a deal and getting to that most valued of commodities—ink on paper—has become the long slog of 2015.

Occasionally, a deal emerges. In a kick start to the hottest A&D month in 2015, FourPoint Energy LLC said July 1 it had an $840 million deal to buy assets in the Anadarko Basin.

But the deal didn’t roll into FourPoint’s corner without finesse, patience and a bit of English on the ball. The tricky part was a three-way negotiation among FourPoint, Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and GSO Capital Partners LP, said George Solich, president and CEO of FourPoint.

“It was a long, tough deal but we ended with a win, win, win,” he said.

The Denver company signed definitive agreements to buy Chesapeake’s Anadarko Basin subsidiaries, Chesapeake Exploration LLC (CEX) and CHK Cleveland Tonkawa LLC.

FourPoint came away with a deal that includes acquiring interest in about 1,500 producing wells and more than 250,000 acres primarily in the Cleveland, Tonkawa and Marmaton formations. Most of the acreage is located in Roger Mills and Ellis counties, Okla.

The assets were practically made for FourPoint, situated in a basin that its brain trust knows technically as well or better than any company in the industry. FourPoint’s team has spent a decade painstakingly mapping the western Anadarko Basin, Solich said.

“From a de-risking standpoint, we think we are in an excellent position,” he said. The acquisition “also happens to sit right on top of 160,000 acres that we hold net to FourPoint and double that in our joint venture with EnerVest.”

The deal also doubles the company’s production, has a meaningful impact on 3P reserves and undeveloped locations. Average 12-month production is 21,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including 33% oil, 44% natural gas and 23% NGL.

“It was just a great fit,” he said.

Three-Way Tie

Chesapeake and GSO wanted to sell.

But the complexity of negotiations and the ups and downs of crude prices made it a rough ride at times.

As Solich understands it, in 2012, GSO and their debt partners designed a deal as financing for Chesapeake to sell—but continue developing–assets in the Cleveland Tonkawa and Marmaton formations.

Chesapeake and GSO ultimately decided to attempt to sell the assets and unwind the drilling commitment.

“It wasn’t a typical one-on-one negotiation,” Solich said. “We had really three parties involved.”

In the midst of talks significant changes were happening, too.

“We had a pretty epic collapse in both crude oil prices and rig count and had to navigate those waters to keep that deal together,” he said. “We had to make some significant changes to the deal to make it happen.”

Solich said everyone fought hard for their stakeholders.

“You expect that and it always makes it more challenging at the negotiating table, and it was,” Solich said. “But we persevered through it.”

FourPoint’s acquisition will be funded by $619 million in FourPoint Holdings equity issued to funds managed by GSO Capital Partners and cash drawn from existing FourPoint Energy credit facilities.

Solich said the acquisition was in line with the deals in his comfort zone. Solich likes grass-roots drilling, leasing and acquisitions while making tactical and large strategic moves as they present themselves.

“But at the end of the day, the way we like to grow is to consolidate,” he said. “We really believe there’s value in a big consolidated block, where you’ve got lots of synergies to the operations side. You can bring your technical prowess to bear throughout the regional footprint and you become a major player.”

Part of that model means having strong technical teams developing assets that are all in the same area. Quality assets and a strong team that knows the geological makeup of an area maximizes value from the rock, Solich said.

Exploratory Urgency

For now, closing the Chesapeake deal by the end of August is foremost on Solich’s mind.

Then the hunt resumes.

“Our goal is to be the largest producer in the Anadarko Basin,” Solich said. “We’re not done with acquisitions, were not done consolidating. We think there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity left to capture.”

Ultimately, Solich sees FourPoint as a company that is the right size to operate in two basins and, on the outside, three. In particular, the company has scrutinized the Permian Basin for the better part of 18 months without finding what it wants.

“We just haven’t found the right size or the right deal,” he said.

Like the Midcontinent the Permian is a multi-pay drilling area with many benches to explore, with portions of the Midland and Delaware basins equal in complexity to the Anadarko.

That means there’s a lot opportunity and that it’s tougher to get into the Permian right now. “But 10 years ago it was almost impossible to get into the Midcontinent,” Solich said.

FourPoint’s success has come by virtue of a market that for various reasons reorganized around different plays.

The company won’t be shy about knocking on doors in the future.

While the Permian is in favor now, that just means opportunity somewhere else.

“What I’ve seen in my career time and again is that one man’s garbage becomes another man’s treasure,” he said.

Contact the author, Darren Barbee, at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.