Acquisitions & Divestitures - Mergers & Acquisitions

Chesapeake Energy completed its acquisition of WildHorse Resource Development Corp. on Feb. 1, creating an Eagle Ford oil producing powerhouse.

Ophir Energy agreed to be bought out by Indonesian oil and gas group Medco Energi for a sweetened bid of 390.6 million pounds (US$511.02 million) in cash.

King & Spalding on Jan. 29 announced that Alan Noskow has joined as a partner in the firm’s Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group in the Washington, D.C. office.

As XTO Energy, Exxon Mobil’s subsidiary, grows production in the Permian Basin, it is also working to address water, emissions and quality of life concerns in the region.

Ophir Energy rejected Indonesian oil and gas group Medco Energi's potential takeover offer, saying it "undervalues" the British oil and gas company.

Medco said shareholders of Ophir, an upstream oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Asia and Africa, would receive 48.5 pence in cash for each Ophir share.

Norwegian oil company DNO raised its bid for Britain's Faroe Petroleum after its hostile bid in November as inadequate and "opportunistic."

Canyon Capital Advisors has warned it would vote against the sale of Rowan to rival Ensco, casting doubt on a combination that had signaled optimism about the future of offshore exploration.

Activist investor Elliott Management offered to buy oil and gas producer QEP Resources in an all-cash deal valued at $2.07 billion, saying that the company is "deeply undervalued."

DNO's combined ownership and bid acceptances now stands at 43.8%, up from about 43% but still short of a controlling stake in British independent oil and gas company Faroe Petroleum.

Publicly held E&Ps are settling in for a long cold spell, lest they be burned. Forego deals for fear of shareholder reprisal? Or press ahead despite market backlash?

DNO had previously required the backing of 57.5% of Faroe shareholders for the takeover offer, but that fell to 50% after DNO lifted its stake in the U.K. company slightly on Jan. 3.