Canada’s Inter Pipeline Ltd. said on Feb. 18 it has launched a review of options, including a possible ‘corporate transaction,’ just a week after it rejected an unsolicited bid from its largest shareholder Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
Brookfield, which acquires and manages infrastructure assets, had offered CA$16.50 per share for Inter and said it was willing to raise it to as much as CA$18.25 if the pipeline operator gave it access to due diligence.
At the top price, Brookfield’s offer valued Inter at CA$7.8 billion (US$6.15 billion) and would have made it the biggest Canadian oil and gas deal since 2017, according to data provider Dealogic.
However, the Calgary, Alberta-based company rejected the offer, saying it was too low.
While Inter on Feb. 18 did not give any detail on the type of corporate transaction it might consider, it said it continues to look for partner for its CA$4 billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex in Alberta province.
The company had in 2019 rejected an unsolicited CA$12.4 billion buyout offer from an unnamed bidder, which, according to several media reports, was Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. That offer valued Inter shares at around CA$30 each.
The company’s assets include over 7,000 km (4,300 miles) of pipelines and 5 million barrels of oil storage in western Canada, as well as natural gas liquids processing plants.
Separately, Inter posted a 68% jump in fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher volumes and capital fees at its oil sands transportation business.
Excluding items, it earned 24 Canadian cents, above expectations of 19 Canadian cents, according to Refinitiv IBES.
Its shares closed at CA$17.50 in Toronto Stock Exchange on Feb. 18, up 30.6% since the Brookfield offer was made public. (US$1 = 1.2674 Canadian dollars)
Recommended Reading
Devon Energy CEO Rick Muncrief Shares Secrets of Successful A&D
2023-02-02 - Devon Energy’s chief executive revealed the formula that made the firm’s merger with WPX Energy work.
‘Now Do Australia’: Shale Royalty
2022-11-30 - Shale royalty Bryan Sheffield and Dick Stoneburner shift their attention to Australia.
Appalachia Assets Operated by Seneca Resources Sold to IOG Resources
2022-11-22 - The deal includes Clearfield, Elk and McKean counties, Pennsylvania, assets with current net production averaging about 17 MMcf/d.
Civitas Resources C-Suite Chat: Rising to the Challenge(s)
2022-12-01 - Civitas Resources in the D-J Basin is aligning executive compensation with stakeholders, meeting emissions reduction targets and is on target to generate $1 billion in annual free cash flow this year. And inside its C-suite, a millennial woman from Colombia is showing everyone how it’s done.
Dvalin North Plan Calls for 780 Million Euro Investment
2022-12-13 - “Committing to a development only the year after discovery is very rare but shows our determination to supply natural gas to Europe through a major investment in Norway,” Wintershall Dea's Dawn Summers said.