At press time, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. issued industry-roiling news: it plans to acquire not only Kerr-McGee Corp. but Western Gas Resources Inc. as well. The nearly 2,000-word press release is worth $23.3 billion-or some $11.6 million per word. As it came across the Internet, Anadarko's market cap was losing that much per minute. The stock cleanly tumbled from about $48.50 before the news to $45.25 a few hours later. Anadarko's loss immediately became other North American producers' gain, as the news put all independents into play. For example, Devon Energy Corp. shares jumped from $54 to $56.25; Southwestern Energy Co.'s improved from $27 to $30.25. Thank you, Anadarko, these shareholders sang. "We are creating a combined company with industry-leading positions in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and the Rockies, two of the fastest-growing oil and natural gas producing regions in North America," says Jim Hackett, Anadarko chairman, president and chief executive. The plan is a departure from a few years ago when Hackett assumed the helm in late 2003 from former Anadarko chief executive John Seitz and chairman Bob Allison. Whispers at industry meetings were that Hackett would prep Anadarko for sale. He had already been successful at this at Ocean Energy and Seagull Energy where he was chairman, president and CEO. Hackett merged Seagull with Ocean, and then Ocean with Devon. He went to Devon briefly, and left for Anadarko. For more on this, see the July issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.