It’s a done deal….the merger of Devon Energy Corporation and WPX Energy, Inc.
The two Oklahoma companies announced Thursday the completion of their all-stock merger. The result being, according to the announcement, the creation of “a leading energy producer in the U.S.” with most of its assets in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.
The newly-merged company will be headquartered in Oklahoma City and operate under the name Devon Energy. Where? Of course at the 50-story Devon Tower built several years ago by Devon Energy in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City.
“This transformational merger enhances the scale of our operations, builds a dominant position in the Delaware Basin and accelerates our cash-return business model that prioritizes free cash flow generation and the return of capital to shareholders,” said Dave Hager, executive chairman.
“I want to thank employees for their determined work to complete a transaction of this size and scale in basically just three months,” said Rick Muncrief, president and CEO. “This paves the way for our integration to pick up even more steam and establishes Devon as one of the strongest energy producers in the U.S.”
Shareholders in the two companies, Devon in Oklahoma City and WPX in Tulsa voted last week to approve the merger. As part of the marriage, WPX shareholders received a fixed exchange of 0.5165 shares of Devon Common stock for each share of WPX common stock that was owned.
Consequently, WPX common stock will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. On Wednesday, WPX Energy shares rose 48 cents to $9.43, a gain of 5.36%. Devon shares experienced a jump of 97 cents or a nearly 6% gain to $18.33.
The merger also created a new board of directors consisting of 12 members:
- David A. Hager, executive chairman of the board
- Barbara M. Baumann
- John E. Bethancourt
- Ann G. Fox
- Kelt Kindick
- John Krenicki Jr.
- Karl F. Kurz
- Robert A. Mosbacher Jr.
- Richard E. Muncrief
- D. Martin Phillips
- Duane C. Radtke
- Valerie M. Williams
Source: Devon Energy