Leadership at Chevron has only a few days to decide whether to challenge the decision made by Anadarko Petroleum to accept the Occidental Petroleum buyout offer over Chevron’s.
The board of directors at Anadarko said this week Occidental’s offer is superior to the agreement previously announced with Chevron. Chevron can counter the offer.
It was last month when Chevron reached an agreement to buy Anadarko for $33 billion or $65 a share. But Occidental jumped into the picture and offered $38 billion or $76 a share. And over the weekend, Occidental sweetened the offer by offering to pay mostly cash for Anadarko.
The directors at Anadarko couldn’t resist and unanimously voted Monday that the revised offer was a “Superior Proposal.” They also agreed to cancel the deal with Chevron.
“We have long been convinced that a strategic combination with Anadarko represents a compelling opportunity for the shareholders of both Occidental and Anadarko, and we are pleased that Anadarko’s Board has determined that our May 5, 2019 offer is a ‘Superior Proposal,’” Occidental said in a statement.
According to that agreement, Chevron has the right to put another offer on the table through Friday. Chevron’s merger agreement with Anadarko is structured as 75% stock and 25% cash.
If Chevron doesn’t make a counter offer by Friday, then it will get a $1 billion breakup fee from Anadarko.