After more than 18 months of back-and-forth attempts to acquire PHX Minerals of Fort Worth—WhiteHawk Energy of Philadelphia got its answer.
It was a resounding no. The response finally came from PHX’s Board of Directors.
” We and PHX management continue to review opportunities that are focused on maximizing stockholder value. With respect to the WhiteHawk proposal, as we communicated to WhiteHawk, the Board of Directors of PHX believes it is in the best interest of the Company’s stockholders to decline this proposal.”
WhiteHawk had offered to take over PHX Minerals in a $4 a share all-cash transaction and just a month ago, WhiteHawk’s CEO Daniel C. Herz had encourged the firm to take the deal.
“We are disappointed that PHX has been unwilling to engage with WhiteHawk over the past 18 months, which has forced us to make public this proposal,” added Herz in mid-October.
He continued making his case, explaining PHX had consumed more than $40 million of cash since 2020 and returned less than $12 million in dividends to stockholders during the same time period. Herz also sP producers and nearly every other index in the past four years.