BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, is not likely to bid for Anadarko Petroleum, the Texas-based independent oil and gas producer, due in part to the latter's unknown financial liabilities related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to Gimme Credit debt analyst Phil Adams.
Anadarko (APC), which held a 25% non-operating interest in the Macondo well project, has seen its shares surge in the past week after a British press report said BHP was mulling a $90 per share bid for the U.S. firm. That would value Anadarko at $45 billion. The stock closed at $76.11 today with a market cap of $37.7 billion.
Liability related to the Macondo well rupture will not be known for a long time and any deal will also have to be seen as a ''merger of equals''to retain key executives from Anadarko, another potential hurdle, Adams said in a note to clients, Reuters reported. A merger of equals scenario would seem unlikely given that BHP (BHP) is nearly seven times largest than Anadarko by market cap.
Adams said Gimme Credit still likes Anadarko for the long-term, but added that some profit-taking is probably in order for the stock in the near-term.
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