Billionaire Harold Hamm eyes taking Continental private amid energy boom

Continental Resources said on Tuesday it received an all-cash offer from billionaire-founder Harold Hamm’s family trust, a deal which could take the US shale producer private at a valuation of $25.41bn.

If both sides reach an agreement, it would result in the most significant deal in the US shale sector since the surge in oil and natural gas prices in 2022 caused by tightened supply, as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic and the dislocation of energy markets caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Hamm, a legendary oilman who once called the Opec a “toothless tiger”, is offering $70 per share to those holding the roughly 17% of the company that his family does not already own.

The offer represents a nearly 9% premium over Continental's closing price on Monday, but is below a near eight-year high of $73.54 that Continental’s shares touched last Thursday.

Continental’s shares jumped 16% to $74.83 in the opening minutes of trading, indicating investors believe a higher offer could be forthcoming.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Scott Hanold said it would likely take a higher price to convince shareholders to sell, noting most analysts in the space had a price target of between $78 and $79 per share.

Continental said the proposal was an indication of interest from the Hamm family trust, and it had not yet fully evaluated the offer. In a letter to the board disclosed in the same filing, Hamm’s family trust said the deal will be structured as a tender offer and that there were no financing issues.

Hamm founded Continental as Shelly Dean Oil Company in 1967, and ran it as a private company until 2007.

In a letter to employees detailing his go-private offer, Hamm lamented the public markets have not supported the oil and gas industry and limited its growth, especially since the pandemic.

“We have determined that the opportunity today is with private companies who have the freedom to operate and are not limited by public markets,” Hamm said in the letter.

Both US crude and natural gas prices this year have hit their highest levels since 2008. The high prices have been a boon to the shale industry, and Continental has used this backdrop to expand its operations.

In December, it entered the Permian Basin for the first time, buying acreage from Pioneer Natural Resources. Meanwhile, it bought land in March from Chesapeake Energy to bolster its footprint in the Powder River Basin.

Continental said it would form a special committee of independent directors and hire advisers to consider Hamm’s proposal.

If the proposal is rejected, the Hamm family will continue as long-term shareholders and would not push for any strategic options, according to Hamm’s offer letter.

Reuters