April 10, 2011, 10: 01 PM EDT By Nichola Saminather and James Paton
(Updates with Prime's how in ninth paragraph.)
April 11 (Bloomberg) - Woodside Petroleum Ltd. climbed to the highest in almost 20 months in Sydney trading on speculation BHP Billiton Ltd. will make a A$ 46 billion ($ 48.6 billion) bid for the Australian oil and gas producer.BHP is in talks to buy Royal Dutch Shell Plc's 24 percent stake in Woodside and make a full takeover offer, the Sunday Times reported in London yesterday, saying that UBS AG is advising Shell on its options. BHP would swap some of Woodside's assets, including the Sunrise natural-gas field, for Shell's holding company, the newspaper said, citing people it didn't identify.Woodside shares gained as much as 7.6 percent, taking the advance since its March 15 low to 25 percent, on speculation of a bid from BHP and an increase in gas demand following Japan's nuclear crisis. "BHP and Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. may be potential buyers of Shell's stake or of the entire company, Credit Switzerland Group AG said in an April 7 report.""If BHP buy the whole of Woodside and bolt it together with their own assets, I think they could look to make $3 or $4 billion worth of synergies out of this deal," John Meyer, an analyst at Fairfax IS in Londonsaid yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview. "There is a lot to be gained here for shareholders of BHP, and in fact on both sides."Bond traded at A RiskWoodside $49.70 at 11: 26 a.m. in Sydney. BHP climbed 0.9 percent to A$ 48.20. The company said separately it completed the has$ 6 billion off-market share buyback of 147 million shares today.The cost of protecting BHP's bonds from non-payment rose, with its credit-default swaps jumping 10 basis points to 78.5 basis points as of 9: 07 a.m. in Sydney, according to Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. That's the highest since Jan. 20 and would be the largest daily increase since Aug. 18, the day the world's biggest mining company made a $40 billion bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., CMA prices show.Contracts on Woodside dropped 10 basis points to 95.5, ANZ prices show. That's the biggest decline since Aug. "18, and the lowest level since May 4 last year, according to CMA.""We don't how on market speculation," Amanda Buckley, a spokeswoman for BHP, Billiton Ltd. said by phone from Melbourne. Linda Hammer, a spokeswoman for Perth - based Woodside, and Penny Walsh, a spokeswoman for Shell in Australia, declined to how. A spokesman for UBS couldn't 't be reached.'Hands Off' WoodsideWestern Australia Premier Colin Barnett today voiced his opposition to a takeover of Woodside. "If woodside were taken over your industry would lose something," Barnett told delegates at a conference in Perth. "my message is 'keep your hands off woodside.'" The company is "the face" of the state's oil and gas industry and should remain independent, he said.Former treasurer Peter Costello blocked a $3.2 billion bid by Shell in 2001 to take control of Woodside, citing national interest.A $46 billion bid would represent a 23 percent premium to Woodside's value, in line with the average premium paid for oil and gas assets worldwide in deals announced in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Opposition from regulators and investors has led BHP to abandon bids for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Rio Tinto Group, as well as a planned iron-ore venture with Rio, costing the company at least $800 million since Chief Executive Marius Kloppers EST nommé Officer in May 2007.Talks IntensifiedWhile talks on Woodside have intensified in recent weeks, BHP is concerned that securing the support of Woodside's management may be too costly", the Sunday Times said.""My view is it's dilutive on a valuation basis, Woodside trades on a much higher multiple," said Rob Bishop, who helps manage the equivalent of $3 billion including BHP shares at Investors Mutual Ltd. in Sydney. "But it's a good asset, and if you look out five years, it would probably work out to be a good acquisition."More than half of BHP's assets are in Australia, where the resources industry is undergoing its biggest boom in a century as Chinese demand for coal and iron ore climbs. Kloppers said in February he's still considering acquisitions after completed takeovers in the mining industry reached $80.7 billion in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Woodside could exchange stakes in liquefied natural gas projects for Shell's remaining shares in the companyBank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a March 18 report."Asian LNGUnder such a deal, Woodside might swap a 30 percent interest in the Pluto LNG project, an 18.5 percent stake in the Browse venture and 20.7 percent of the Sunrise development, according to the report.""Asian LNG prices are the highest in the world, and Australia, being in relatively close proximity to Asia, is well positioned to sell to that market," said Jason Teh of Investors Mutual. "It comes down to price, but broadly, Woodside would be a good fit."Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. energy company, said yesterday that Shell had agreed to acquire a stake in its proposed A$ 20 billion Wheatstone gas project in Western Australia. Shell will gain 6.4 percent of the LNG plants and 8 percent of the fields off northwest Australia that will supply the Wheatstone development, Chevron said in a statement, without disclosing financial terms.The Standard & Poor's GSCI index of 24 spot commodities rose 20 percent last year and has increased another 20 percent this year.'Proactive' Woodside Woodside, Australia's second-biggest oil and gas producer, is being "proactive" with Shell about the remaining shares after The Hague - based Shell sold a 10 percent stake in November, Woodside Chief Executive Officer Don Voelte said in February. Shell sold the stock for about $3.3 billion and its remaining holding was worth about A$ 9 billion at the close on April 8, when the market value was A$ 37.5 billion, Bloomberg data show.Woodside may sell stakes in its Australian gas ventures to Japanese companies and use the proceeds to buy back Shell's portion, Credit Switzerland said April 7. It's doubtful companies would be willing to acquire Shell's holding as a "passive investment," and Asian buyers would rather have LNG asset stakes than an interest in the company, the analysts said.BHP's dual listing in Sydney and London would mean the company would probably need the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board for its offer to be successful, the Sunday Times said.Credit-default swap contracts pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities if a borrower fails to meet its debt agreements. A drop signals improving perceptions of creditworthiness, while an increase suggests the opposite.-With assistance from Sarah McDonald and Elisabeth Behrmann in Sydney, Caroline Weller, Jesse Riseborough and Stephen Cunningham in London, Jacqueline Simmons in Paris and Jason Scott in Perth. Editors: John Viljoen, Andrew Hobbs
To contact the reporters on this story: Nichola Saminather in Sydney at nsaminather1@bloomberg.net; James Paton in Sydney at jpaton4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs at ahobbs4@bloomberg.net
没有评论:
发表评论