Chevron abandons its Anadarko deal after a month of bidding
Walking away from the $33bn offer opens the door for Occidental, and Chevrlon wondering what to do with its $74bn pile of cash and unused shares
Houston — Chevron is abandoning its $33bn offer for oil driller Anadarko Petroleum, the culmination of a month-long bidding war in which Occidental Petroleum prevailed over a rival five times its size. The most ambitious foray of Chevron CEO Mike Wirth’s tenure ended on Thursday after the world’s third-largest oil explorer by market value elected not to sweeten an offer that fell out of favour with Anadarko directors. Chevron said it will collect a $1bn termination fee and plans to increase its share buybacks by 25%. “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,” Wirth said. Chevron’s departure leaves Occidental free to proceed with its $38bn takeover of Anadarko that will double the acquirer’s daily output to the equivalent of more than 1.3-million barrels, on par with oil cartel Opec members Angola or Libya. The outcome als...
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