Hamm advances private takeover offer of Continental Resources

Harold Hamm on New US Gulf Coast Crude Benchmark | Hart Energy

 

In yet another filing with the SEC, billionaire Harold Hamm and his family took another step toward their total purchase of Continental Resources Inc. and return it to private control.

The Nov. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission included an amendment which stated Hamm’s offer of $74.28 per share was made Oct. 24 in a tender offer statement. Hamm is the 100% owner of Omega Acquisition, Inc., the firm he created to merge with Continental Resources.

Directors at Continental agreed to the merger and announced the deal on Oct. 16, 2022.

“As a result of the Merger, the Company will cease to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will subsequently be deregistered under the Exchange Act,” stated the latest SEC filing by Hamm and his family.

 

Shareholders will not have a vote on the matter.

The filing also revealed for the first time publicly the existence of Project Alpha, the financial review of Continental Resources that was made for the Special Committee of the Board of Directors. It was the Special Committee that made the recommendation to consider Hamm’s initial offer that was made in June 2022.

Who We Are - Evercore

New York investment banking advisory firm Evercore Group LLC was employed to conduct the review. The company offers mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, financing, public offers, private placements, research, trading execution and investment management services.

As the Evercore presentation indicated, the materials were compiled on a confidential basis for use by the Special Committee in evaluating Hamm’s proposed transaction.

In one review of Continental’s performance, Evercore stated, “While Alpha has exceeded all volume production targets to date, it is expected to fall below targets for the first time in 2023, falling further behind as time moves forward based on the current drilling program.”