US mining giant buys McMoran and Plains E&P

Joining forces: Trio of companies to hold estimated value of $60bn

related stories

Bill Lehane

 05 December 2012 15:28 GMT

US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) has announced a double acquisition of former subsidiary McMoRan Exploration as well as Houston independent Plains Exploration & Production in deals worth $20 billion.

The Phoenix, Arizona-headquartered miner said the two buys would create an integrated resource player with a pro forma enterprise value of some $60 billion.

FCX chief executive Richard Adkerson said the two purchases added “a high quality portfolio of assets with strong current cash flows, significant growth options and complementary exposure to markets positioned for global growth”.

Adkerson said the miner hoped to use low-cost debt to fund much of the purchase prices in order to retain value for its shareholders and enhance future value generation potential.

In one merger agreement, FCX will acquire…

Become an Upstream member!

Membership includes a subscription to our weekly newspaper providing in-depth news from the energy industry, plus full-access to this site and its archives. Still not convinced? Try our free trial.

Already a member?

Login

Upstream share price index