Chevron Corp. will not make a counterproposal to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corp. following Anadarko’s determination that a revised bid from Occidental Petroleum Corp. constitutes a “superior proposal” and will allow the 4-day match period to expire (OGJ Online, Apr. 24, 2019).
Chevron anticipates that Anadarko will terminate the merger agreement (OGJ Online, Apr. 12, 2019).
“Winning in any environment doesn’t mean winning at any cost. Cost and capital discipline always matter, and we will not dilute our returns or erode value for our shareholders for the sake of doing a deal,” said Michael Wirth, Chevron chairman and chief executive officer.
"Chevron just demonstrated its commitment to capital discipline and conservative financial policies by declining to enter a bidding war for Anadarko,” said Pete Speer, senior vice-pres., Moody’s. "While it has the financial capacity to match Occidental Petroleum's offer, had it raised the cash portion of the consideration to compete with Oxy it would have materially increased its financial leverage and weakened its credit profile."
Upon termination of the merger agreement, Anadarko will be required to pay Chevron a termination fee of $1 billion.
