Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners announced Wednesday that it is no longer interested in pursuing a merger with Tulsa-based Williams Companies.
Enterprise Products cited “recent news leaks, movements in the price of the partnership’s common units as well as questions from investors” as the reason behind the company’s withdrawal of its non-binding proposals to merge with Williams.
“Since our initial public offering in 1998, we have been and remain focused on responsibly growing Enterprise to provide distribution growth for our partners and enhance the value of our partnership’s units,” said A.J. “Jim” Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. “Consistent with these efforts and after extensive analysis of public information regarding Williams, we submitted non-binding proposals to Williams to combine Williams and Enterprise. As a result of rumors with respect to our proposals, as well as the lack of engagement by Williams, we have determined that there is no actionable path forward toward an agreement. We, therefore, have withdrawn our non-binding proposals. While we are disappointed, we will maintain our financial discipline as we pursue future growth opportunities for the partnership.”
Recently, it was revealed that Enterprise approached Williams earlier this summer about the potential merger of the two companies.
Last month, Keith Meister, a former Williams board member and activist leader of Corvex Management, publicly criticized the CEO and incumbent board of directors for not entertaining the merger offer made by Enterprise.
