Whitecap Resources and Veren to merge in massive $15-billion deal
Whitecap Resources Inc. and Veren Inc. have announced plans to merge in a $15-billion transaction aimed at creating Canada's largest light-oil-focused producer.
If approved, the new company, under Whitecap's name, would have combined production of around 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the companies said in a release Monday.
The merger stands to create the largest Canadian light oil producer and the seventh-largest producer overall in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
The new company would also be the largest landholder in the Alberta Montney and the second largest across unconventional Montney and Duvernay fairways, with a combined 1.5 million acres in Alberta, the release said. The combined company would also be the second-largest producer in Saskatchewan.
The new company will be led by Whitecap's current management team, with four Veren directors — including chief executive Craig Bryska — joining Whitecap's board.
The all-share transaction is valued at $15 billion, including net debt. Under the terms of the deal, Veren (formerly known as Crescent Point Energy Corp.) shareholders will receive 1.05 Whitecap shares for each Veren share. Post-merger, Whitecap shareholders would own roughly 48 per cent of the combined company; Veren shareholders will own 52 per cent.
The deal will be voted on by both companies' shareholders in early May. The merger will also require court and regulatory approvals.
Luke Davis, an analyst at Raymond James Financial Inc., suggested the merger has been a logical move for at least the last decade.
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'(T)he combined company will be positioned exceptionally well with Whitecap's best-in-class management team poised to improve operational performance and capture synergies across the value chain,' he said in a note Monday.
'We also think this positions the company among larger-cap peers, which seems to be the clearest path to sustainable multiple expansion. That said, we would not be surprised by some near-term weakness as the deal is digested with the premium paid a key driver.'
• Email: mpotkins@postmedia.com
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