Investor group to acquire Samson Investment

Nov. 23, 2011
An investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP will acquire Samson Investment Co., Tulsa, Okla., one of the largest private US exploration and production companies, for $7.2 billion.

An investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP will acquire Samson Investment Co., Tulsa, Okla., one of the largest private US exploration and production companies, for $7.2 billion.

Besides KKR, the investor group consists of Natural Gas Partners, Crestview Partners, and Itochu Corp. It has committed that company headquarters remain in Tulsa.

The Schusterman family will continue to own Samson’s Gulf Coast onshore and Gulf of Mexico deepwater assets. Closing is expected by the end of 2011. The company will be renamed Samson Resources. David Adams, chief operating officer, will be named chief executive officer.

Founded in 1971, Samson employs nearly 1,200 and owns interests in more than 10,000 wells, of which it operates over 4,000, in the US. The company has key positions in oil and liquids-rich plays such as the Bakken, Powder River, Green River, Granite Wash, Cana Woodford, and Cotton Valley as well as in the Haynesville and Bossier gas shales.