Oil and gas company Whitecap Resources Inc. said April 5 it will acquire Kicking Horse Oil & Gas Ltd., a privately-held indirect subsidiary of Quantum Energy Partners, for CA$300 million (US$239.08 million) in a stock-and-cash deal.

Canada’s oil and gas sector had a record start to 2021 in terms of M&A as companies took advantage of improved expectations of oil prices amid the pandemic recovery, and many industry participants expect the trend to continue.

Whitecap’s indirect acquisition of Kicking Horse consists of 34.5 million Whitecap common shares and CA$56 million in cash, along with the assumption of net debt estimated at CA$54 million as of Feb. 28.

The Kicking Horse assets are positioned in the liquids-rich portion of the Alberta Montney. Whitecap says the deal complements its existing Montney position at Karr and has significant offsetting activity.

Kicking Horse’s current production is about 8,000 boe/d and is expected to increase to and maintained at 18,000–19,000 boe/d over the next 12–15 months with the drilling of eight to 10 wells per year.

Whitecap had already executed two deals in the second half of 2020 using stock to buy rivals Nal Resources and TORC Oil & Gas.

The deal for Kicking Horse is expected to close on or before May 31. (US$1 = 1.2548 Canadian dollars)

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