The expansion of the Anglo-Australian giant Bhp Billiton continues. The world leader in the mining sector has announced that it will acquire the US Petrohawk Energy, whose deposits are concentrated in Texas and Louisiana. The value of the transaction is around 15 billion dollars (12,1 billion of enterprise value plus other debt situations), the shares will be purchased at a premium of 61% compared to the average value of the last 20 days.
With this operation, the ambitious company expands its investments in shale gas, a strategic and rapidly growing market. Interest in the sector had already manifested itself in March with the purchase of some Cheasepeake Energy assets. The aggressive strategy, a distinctive feature of Broken Hill Propriety and Billiton, the companies that merged in 2001 to create Bhp Billiton, has catapulted the Melbourne company into the top 10 in the world, excluding sovereigns, in the oil and gas sector. gas.
