Energy Transfer LP and Enable Midstream Partners, LP announced yesterday that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Energy Transfer will acquire Enable in an all-equity transaction valued at approximately US$7.2 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Enable common unitholders will receive 0.8595 ET common units for each Enable common unit, an exchange ratio that represents an at-the-market transaction, based on the 10-day volume-weighted average price of ET and Enable common units on 12 February 2021.
In addition, each outstanding Enable Series A preferred unit will be exchanged for 0.0265 Series G preferred units of Energy Transfer. The transaction will include a US$10 million cash payment for Enable’s general partner.
The transaction furthers Energy Transfer’s deleveraging efforts as it is expected to be immediately accretive to free cash flow post-distributions, have a positive impact on credit metrics and add significant fee-based cash flows from fixed-fee contracts.
The all-equity nature of the transaction allows unitholders of both partnerships to participate in the value creation potential of the combined partnership.
Energy Transfer’s acquisition of Enable will increase Energy Transfer’s footprint across multiple regions and provide increased connectivity for Energy Transfer’s natural gas and NGL transportation businesses.
Energy Transfer will significantly strengthen its NGL infrastructure by adding natural gas gathering and processing assets in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma and integrate high-quality assets with Energy Transfer’s existing NGL transportation and fractionation assets on the US Gulf Coast. The acquisition will also provide significant gas gathering and processing assets in the Arkoma basin across Oklahoma and Arkansas, as well as the Haynesville Shale in East Texas and North Louisiana.
Enable’s transportation and storage assets enhance Energy Transfer’s access to core markets with consistent sources of demand and bolster its portfolio of customers anchored by large, investment-grade customers with firm, long-term contracts. Energy Transfer will further enhance its connectivity to the global LNG market and the growing global demand for natural gas as the world transitions to cleaner power and fuel sources.
The combination of Energy Transfer’s significant infrastructure with Enable’s complementary assets will allow the combined company to pursue additional commercial opportunities and achieve cost savings while enhancing Energy Transfer’s ability to serve customers.
Energy Transfer expects the combined company to generate more than US$100 million of annual run-rate cost and efficiency synergies, excluding potential financial and commercial synergies. Potential commercial synergies include significant incremental earnings, which may result from integrating Enable’s Anadarko gathering and processing complex with Energy Transfer’s fractionation assets on the US Gulf Coast.
For more news and technical articles from the oil and gas pipeline industry, read the latest issue of World Pipelines magazine.
World Pipelines’ February 2021 issue
The February 2021 issue of World Pipelines includes: a report on Australasian pipelines; an interesting look at the need to protect pipeline information from the Freedom of Information Act (USA); analysis of Ukraine’s place in the global gas sector; and technical articles on subsea repair, coatings, ILI and SCADA systems.