M&A pace increases as China strikes its biggest deal to date

摘要

As previously reported by PLS Inc., Chinese and Asian NOCs have been active buyers in the acquisition markets accounting for approximately 15% - 20% of the global value for E&P deals since 2009. So it's not surprising that state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) stepped up big in late July with China's largest E&P deal to date. On July 23, CNOOC announced a definitive agreement to buy Calgary-based Nexen Inc. for $27.50/share cash - a 61% premium to Nexen's prior-day close. Including debt assumed, PLS calculates the deal to be US$17.9 billion, eclipsing China's prior largest deal - state-owned Sinopec's $8.5 billion buy completed in August 2009 of Addax Petroleum, an international E&P firm focused on West Africa and the Middle East.