Paulson Agrees to Callon's Revised Carrizo Merger Terms
Callon Petroleum Company CPE recently received green signal from key shareholder Paulson & Co. — a private investment management firm — for its Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. CRZO acquisition plan. Following the revised merger terms announced on Nov 14, Paulson — which strongly opposed the deal from the start — has decided to vote its shares in favour of the deal.
Price Movement
After the news that Paulson has given green signal to the proposed merger deal hit the market yesterday morning, Callon and Carrizo stocks declined 9.8% and 9%, respectively. Moreover, Callon and Carrizo declined 12.1% and 22.2%, respectively, compared with the industry’s fall of 5.9% in the last three months.
New Terms
The revised deal reduced the stock exchange ratio from 2.05 to 1.75. This translates to a premium to be paid of 6.7%, which is significantly lower than 25% decided previously. Moreover, the deal revision removes the golden parachute entitlement to Callon’s management. Shareholders of the company will now own 58% of the combined entity, up from 54% agreed earlier.
The combined company is expected to have around 200,000 net acres in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale. The latest deal is expected to generate more than $100 million of incremental free cash flow in 2020. This information can be intriguing for investors as Callon’s free cash flow has been negative since 2011.
However, the company can lose its pure-play Permian status on acquiring Carrizo’s Eagle Ford shale play properties. Paulson is bothered about the change in status quo as it will reduce the company’s attractiveness. Respecting other investors’ viewpoints on the matter, Paulson — which earlier owned 9.5% of Callon’s outstanding shares — has lowered its positions in the stock.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Callon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are CNX Resources Corporation CNX and Contango Oil & Gas Company MCF. Both the companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
CNX Resources’ 2019 earnings per share have witnessed three upward movements and no downward revision in the past 30 days.
Contango Oil & Gas’ bottom line for the current year is expected to rise around 87% year over year.
Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation
Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.
A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.
See 8 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
CNX Resources Corporation. (CNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Contango Oil & Gas Company (MCF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (CRZO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
