A 10-YEAR HIGH

摘要

By nearly every measure, 2012 was a banner year for mergers and acquisitions for North American exploration and production companies. Myriad factors—the hunger of private-equity firms and foreign buyers, the stability of energy prices, the lure of unconventional resources and the fear of rising taxes—combined to give companies extra incentives to reshuffle assets or buy out entire entities. Those factors are expected to drive additional deals throughout 2013.