By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, June 19 -- Hunt Oil Co., Dallas, has agreed to acquire Chieftain International Inc., Edmonton, Alta., for $600 million, or about $915 million (Can.).
This is the most recent of several Canadian acquisition attempts for privately held Hunt Oil.
A wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of Hunt Oil will offer to pay $29 (US)/share for the common shares of Chieftain.
Chieftain traded at $29.74/share on the American Stock Exchange last Friday.
The offer will be mailed soon and will expire 35 days after mailing. Among other conditions, at least two-thirds of Chieftain shares must be offered.
Chieftain's directors have unanimously agreed to support the offer, and have resolved to waive the company's shareholder rights plan.
Under certain circumstances, Chieftain will pay Hunt a noncompletion fee of $20 million.
James B. Jennings, the president of Hunt Oil Co., said, "We are very pleased with this acquisition. Chieftain has historically had great success with the drill bit in one of our core areas of exploration -- the Gulf of Mexico. ... Chieftain also brings with it an outstanding inventory of exploration acreage and prospects. These exploration assets will complement Hunt Oil Co.'s current efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, where we have also had a number of successes over the years."
Previously, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. defeated Hunt Oil in its bid for Berkley Petroleum Corp., Calgary (OGJ Online, Mar. 6, 2001). It completed the acquisition of some Alberta properties from Canadian 88 Energy Corp. earlier this year (OGJ Online, Feb. 27, 2001).
Also, last year, Hunt agreed to buy Newport Petroleum Corp. of Calgary in a stock purchase valued at $760 million (OGJ Online, May 15, 2001).
Hunt Oil is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, marketing and transportation of oil and gas. The company's major areas of operation are in the Gulf Coast area of the US, the Republic of Yemen, Western Canada, and Peru.
Chieftain is an independent natural gas and oil exploration and production company active in the US Gulf of Mexico, in southeast Utah, and the UK sector of the North Sea.
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. will serve as Hunt Oil's financial advisor. CIBC World Markets Inc. is Chieftain's financial advisor.