Forbes Piece: Baytex/Ranger Oil Combination First Of Its Kind In Almost A Year

[Note: This story was previously published at Forbes.com]

Calgary-based Baytex Energy Corp. announced on Tuesday that is has agreed to acquire Eagle Ford Shale pure play Ranger Oil Corp. for $2.5 billion, including net debt of $650 million. The deal represents the first combination of public companies in the oil and gas upstream sector since last year’s deal between Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum.

In the company’s release, Baytex CEO Eric T. Greager said: "The Ranger acquisition is strategic. We are acquiring a strong operating capability in the Eagle Ford, on-trend with our non-operated position in the Karnes Trough and driving meaningful per-share accretion on all metrics. The transaction more than doubles our EBITDA and nearly doubles our free cash flow. The Ranger inventory immediately competes for capital in our portfolio and brings 12 to 15 years of quality oil-weighted drilling opportunities. We are building quality scale and a more durable business with a lower break-even WTI price."

In an email, Andrew Dittmar, Director at Enverus Intelligence Research, notes that the transaction “follows media reports late last year that Ranger had launched a strategic alternatives process including exploring a sale of the company.”