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29 minutes ago
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BP sells American wind business to LS Power as it continues its renewable retreat
BP will sell its U.S. onshore wind business to New York-based LS Power, as the Big Oil giant continues to divest from much of its renewable energy assets amid financial challenges. The anticipated sale, announced July 18 for an undisclosed sum, meshes with BP's new strategy of doubling down on fossil fuel production while cutting overall costs, especially in clean energy investments. It includes ownership stakes in 10 U.S. wind farms with a combined gross capacity of 1.7 gigawatts, roughly enough to power 1.3 million homes. 'We have been clear that while low-carbon energy has a role to play in a simpler, more focused BP, we will continue to rationalize and optimize our portfolio to generate value,' said William Lin, BP executive vice president for gas and low-carbon energy, in a statement. 'The onshore US wind business has great assets and fantastic people, but we have concluded we are no longer the best owners to take it forward.' Amid struggling stock performance and increased investor activism, BP announced in February it would divest about $20 billion in assets through 2027, including up to $4 billion in 2025. The company said it would also be investing nearly 20% more per year in oil and gas production. Earlier this month, BP said it would sell its network of 300 fueling stations in the Netherlands—also for an undisclosed price—to the Dutch business Catom. The company plans to sell its retail fueling business in Austria as well, and is also divesting a 50% stake in its Lightsource solar business and selling much of its global offshore wind business through a new, fifty-fifty joint venture with Japanese utility JERA. BP has already sold a $1 billion stake in the TANAP gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Apollo Global Management. A strategic review of its Castrol lubricants business is ongoing. Castrol alone is worth close to $8 billion, according to analyst estimates. With BP and archrival Shell both now London based, long-rumored reports escalated in late June that Shell would enter early talks to buy BP in what would be the biggest energy deal this century—if not ever. However, Shell quickly denied any such negotiations, and BP has declined to comment. BP appointed former Shell CFO Simon Henry to its board in July—three months after longtime BP chair Helge Lund said he planned to step down. The renewable energy business in the U.S. is facing additional headwinds from the Trump administration's opposition to wind and solar power, including the recent rapid phasing out of tax credits for clean energy construction through the president's new mega-spending legislation. But BP's loss is LS Power's gain. The New York renewable energy developer touted the addition of the wind farms to its 21-gigawatt portfolio of power on Friday as a major coup for the company. 'LS Power's mission is to solve complex energy problems to improve the world and make lives better by developing a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy ecosystem, and today's announcement represents a material investment in reaching that goal,' said LS CEO Paul Segal in a statement. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2025, includes wind farms in Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. The biggest footprints are in Indiana and Kansas. LS will operate the BP assets under its Clearlight Energy portfolio company. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
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Chevron wins huge legal fight against Exxon to close $53 billion Hess acquisition—getting access to the biggest oil discovery of the century
Chevron won its hotly contested legal battle against rival Exxon Mobil, allowing it to immediately close its $53 billion acquisition of Hess on July 18 and give the Big Oil major access to arguably the biggest oil discovery of the century offshore of sparsely populated Guyana. The long-awaited ruling from an arbitration panel overseen by the International Chamber of Commerce is a massive victory for Chevron and its CEO Mike Wirth who bet big on acquiring New York-based Hess despite the legal risks. Shares of Chevron jumped more than 5% in pre-market trading as the energy giant gained access to more than 11 billion barrels of discoverable oil equivalent in what's called the Stabroek Block and its 6.6 million acres offshore of Guyana in South America. Hess shares spiked about 11%. 'This merger of two great American companies brings together the best in the industry,' Wirth said in a statement. 'The combination enhances and extends our growth profile well into the next decade, which we believe will drive greater long-term value to shareholders.' Former Hess CEO John Hess also will join the Chevron board after a previous block was lifted July 17 by the Federal Trade Commission. Chevron announced its planned all-stock acquisition of Hess in October 2023 with the goal of closing the deal no later than June 2024. In mid-2024, Chevron announced that scheduling challenges meant that the arbitration panel would not hear the case until May 2025, keeping the deal in limbo for a substantial period of time and making investors wary it would ever come to fruition. Exxon, which made the Guyana discovery 10 years ago and operates the exploration and production there, had argued it had the right of first refusal for Hess' ownership of the Guyana stake. Chevron and Hess contended that right of refusal did not apply to the sale of the entire deal will make Exxon and Chevron partners in Guyana despite the rivalry and legal fight. Exxon said it in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling but respects the end result. 'Given the significant value we've created in the development of the Guyana resource, we believed we had a clear duty to our investors to consider our preemption rights to protect the value we created through our innovation and hard work at a time when no one knew just how successful this venture would become,' Exxon stated. 'We welcome Chevron to the venture and look forward to continued industry-leading performance and value creation in Guyana for all parties involved,' Exxon added. What Chevron wins Exxon will continue to lead the Guyana partnership with its 45% ownership stake, and Chevron will join as a 30% owner. China's CNOOC holds the remaining 25%. RBC Capital analyst Biraj Borkhataria said many investors were sitting on the sidelines, awaiting the arbitration results, and that Chevron is now set to benefit. He said the industry can now move on beyond the 'soap opera' and expect Chevron shares to outperform in the coming weeks. He said the focus will eventually shift to Chevron's free cash flow growth that comes from the deal going into 2026 and beyond. The merger adds nearly 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily to Chevron's portfolio, lifting its overall volumes from 3.35 million barrels a day to about 3.83 million barrels daily, based on their results from the first quarter. The compares to Big Oil leader Exxon and its 4.55 million barrels of oil equivalent a the Guyana stake is considered the crown jewel of the Hess deal, it's only one of the big parts of what Chevron acquires from Hess. The biggest source of oil and gas volumes for Hess is actually the maturing Bakken Shale in North Dakota. Hess holds 465,000 net acres of in the Bakken. Chevron also acquires Hess' assets in the Gulf of Mexico and its Southeast Asia natural gas is yet to be seen what, if any, Hess assets Chevron may seek to divest. Chevron already has large positions in both the U.S. Gulf and Asia. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
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Texas, Wisconsin banks agree to buy in-state peers
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. Houston-based Prosperity Bancshares has agreed to buy in-state peer American Bank Holding Company, the parent company of American Bank, in an all-stock deal valued at $321.5 million, the companies announced Friday. Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based Bank First Corp. proposed to buy in-state lender Centre 1 Bancorp in an all-stock deal valued at $174.3 million aiming to expand Bank First's footprint into communities in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, marking the lender's first movement out of the state, the companies said Friday. Prosperity's deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of next year, is awaiting American's shareholders and customary regulatory approvals. Bank First is awaiting regulatory and Centre's shareholders' approvals and expects to close the deal in the first quarter of 2026. Bank First's systems conversion is anticipated in the second quarter of 2026. Prosperity's acquisition Prosperity's latest acquisition reflects its growth strategies through mergers and acquisitions, which have been a key part of its business for decades. The lender's last proposed acquisitions involved two Texas banks – Midland-based FirstCapital Bank of Texas and Lubbock-based Lone Star State Bank of West Texas, the latter of which was finalized in April 2024. The latest acquisition will boost Prosperity's operations in South Texas and its neighboring areas while scaling up its presence in Central Texas, including San Antonio, 'a highly desirable, high growth area,' David Zalman, senior chairman and CEO of Prosperity, noted in the press release. He expressed his excitement about working with the management team and other professionals at American Bank, adding that the banks have complementary footprints. 'We have followed American Bank closely for more than two decades and have tremendous respect for the bank and for the people that have contributed to its success,' Zalman said in a statement. 'The customers of American Bank will be able to use any of our locations across Texas and Oklahoma after operational integration.' The transaction will add American Bank's 18 banking offices and two loan production offices to Prosperity's footprint. In addition, American's $2.5 billion in assets, $1.8 billion in loans and $2.3 billion in deposits will boost Prosperity's roughly $39 billion in assets. Prosperity will issue nearly 4.4 million shares of common stock for all outstanding shares of American common stock. The deal value was decided based on the acquirer's closing price of $72.40 as of Wednesday. After the completion of the merger, Stephen Raffaele, American Bank CEO and president, will join Prosperity Bank as South Texas and San Antonio chairman, while Ben Wallace, American Bank chairman, will join Prosperity Bank as South Texas senior chairman. Additionally, some members of American Bank management will maintain leadership roles in the combined organization. Raffaele and Wallace will also join Prosperity Bank's board. 'Over American Bank's 50-plus year history of growth and success, we have placed our focus on relationship banking and excellent customer service,' Raffaele said in a prepared statement. 'By joining forces with Prosperity, we will continue our journey of service and success, but with all the advantages of the strength and wherewithal of a combined larger and premier banking institution.' Bank First deal The Bank First merger will create an entity with assets of roughly $5.91 billion, loans of about $4.58 billion and deposits of roughly $4.89 billion, based on the financial results as of the end of June. 'This partnership brings together two long-standing, community-focused institutions united by a shared commitment to responsive, relationship-based banking,' Mike Molepske, chairman and CEO of Bank First, stated in the press release, adding it would enable the lender to offer expanded resources. First National Bank and Trust Company, the subsidiary of Centre 1 Bancorp. had approximately $1.55 billion in consolidated assets, $994.9 million in gross loans, $1.29 billion in deposits, and $112.6 million in consolidated stockholders' equity. Under the terms of the agreement, each Centre shareholder will receive 0.9200 shares of Bank First common stock per Centre share. The deal price was based on Bank First's Thursday's closing price of $125.78 per share. The merger combines two relationship-focused community banks with strong deposit franchises - both maintaining over 25% of deposits in non-interest-bearing checking accounts - exceeding the industry average of under 20%, the companies said. Centre shareholders and customers will gain access to Bank First's 40% ownership interest in Ansay & Associates, an agency providing integrated insurance, risk management and benefit solutions. After the merger is completed, Steve Eldred, chairman and CEO of Centre, will join the boards of Bank First and its subsidiaries. 'This merger reflects a shared promise to remain dependable, approachable, and resilient, all values that have long defined our approach to banking,' Eldred said in a statement. Recommended Reading First National Bank of Omaha to buy Kansas City bank Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
