Publications
Publications
- May 2020 (Revised August 2021)
- HBS Case Collection
Playing the Field: Competing Bids for Anadarko Petroleum Corp
Abstract
On April 8, 2019, Occidental’s CEO Vicki Hollub made a private offer to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for $72 in cash and stock. Anadarko's CEO Al Walker said he would consider the offer, yet three days later, on April 11, he signed a merger agreement with Chevron in a deal worth $65 per share in cash and stock. This agreement included a $1 billion “break-up" (termination) fee payable to Chevron if Anadarko accepted another offer. To avoid losing the deal, Hollub then made an initial public offer to buy Anadarko for $76 per share in cash and stock on April 24. When Anadarko failed to respond, Hollub, revised her offer on May 5. Although the revised offer had the same stated value of $76 per share, it included substantially more cash ($59 per share instead of the original $38 per share). With competing offers on the table, Walker now had to decide whether to accept Chevron’s $65 offer or pay the break-up fee and accept Occidental’s $76 offer? Of course, once he had made up his mind, he would have to convince his board that it was the right offer to accept and the right price.
Keywords
Citation
Mayfield, E. Scott, Daniel Green, and Benjamin C. Esty. "Playing the Field: Competing Bids for Anadarko Petroleum Corp." Harvard Business School Case 220-087, May 2020. (Revised August 2021.)
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