Magellan Petroleum Corporation (NASDAQ:MPET)
Magellan Petroleum Corporation is having an incredibly strong day in the market today, and for good reason. The company announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement. Today, we’ll talk about the details of the agreement, how the stock reacted to the news, and what we can expect to see from MPET moving forward.
MPET Announces Definitive Merger Agreement
As mentioned above, Magellan Petroleum Corporation announced early this morning that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will merge with Tellurian Investments Inc. Tellurian is a recently formed private company. The company has a focus on the development of a mid-scale liquified natural gas facility on the United States Gulf Coast.
The financial data associated with the deal is relatively simple. When the deal closes, each share of Tellurian will be converted into the right to receive 1.3 shares of MPET. Under the agreement, the company will issue about 122 million shares of common stock to Tellurian shareholders. This represents about 95% of the pro forma outstanding shares of common stock. In a statement, J. Thomas wilson, President and CEO at MPET had the following to say…
“This transaction concludes our strategic alternatives review process and we believe offers a unique opportunity for Magellan’s shareholders to participate at an early stage in an investment potentially similar to Cheniere Energy’s remarkable success, under the leadership of Charif Souki. He and Martin Houston are proven leaders in the LNG industry.”
The above statement was followed up by Martin Houston, co-founder at Tellurian. Here’s what he had to say…
“Our experienced team leading Driftwood LNG, a 26-million tonnes liquefaction project in Louisiana, and our deep relationship with Bechtel and its sub-contractors, GE and Chart Industries, are key factors that we believe will drive the successful development of one of the most cost-competitive LNG projects globally. With this transaction, we will be able to access more attractive financing in order to develop Driftwood LNG, which should come on stream in 2022, just as the markets for new LNG open up.”
How The Stock Reacted To The News
As investors, one of the first things that we learn is that it’s important to watch the news. After all, the news moves the market. In this particular case, the news of the merger was overwhelmingly positive. As a result, we are seeing strong gains in the value of the stock today. Currently (3:41), the stock is trading at $2.50 per share after a gain of $1.30 per share or 108.33% thus far today.
What We Can Expect To See Moving Forward
Moving forward, I have a relatively mixed opinion with regard to MPET. First and foremost, the news that was released today was obviously good news. After all, this move offers investors an in on the ground floor in a growing industry. However, the fruits of the investment are far off, and it’s important to keep that in mind. Also, it’s important to remember that as the name would suggest, Magellan Petroleum is a company that makes its money in the energy sector. This is a sector that is and has been struggling for some time now. Unfortunately, a solution to the problems the sector faces is far off. So, we will likely see headwinds ahead.