During my MBA, we did a case study that asked: what if United and Southwest merged?  I asked- who’s the CEO?  “The United guy”. I said “Fire everyone from Southwest.” The class was up in arms and I sat back to let the anger wash over me and I smiled. In a way- it was my first hottake.  But mergers are as much about culture as they are about assets and United and Southwest have nothing in common. Pilots pitch in to clean. Turnaround times. Greeting people.  Boarding....

Culture shock aside- the post ‘06 Anadarko was a better company. The assets were upgraded and thank Goodness, we didn’t have to drill $hitty Wattenberg wells (tri-fracs of the re-fracs were annoying enough!). To be honest, Wattenberg was the perfect asset to send people to die. That is- of course- unless they were sent to midstream! Worst place ever!!!  (Just ask the guys who got shoved there for the IPO) The company was flying. All the mistakes of “Reserve Issues Past” (aka Marco Polo) were solved; new...

The 7 months after Anadarko announced it was buying KMG and WGR in ‘06 were pretty eye opening for the young engineer named DRW. I was in Calgary; I loved my job so much (it is hard to remember how young I was) and all my friends were people I had met at work. And then... it happened. June 24, 2006. We announced we were buying not one but two companies for $21b cash! Even though I had nothing to do with it- I was so...

DRW, I didn't understand if your post was for or against the OXY-Anadarko merger. I interpreted it as it will all shake out in the end and you are glad a deal (one way or the other) got made but curious if you would have voted for or against it? - #hotquestionoftheweek Thanks for the question. It’s complicated. I think Ms. Hollub believes it’s best for Oxy and went after it - so good for...

Anadarko is no more. If I’m honest, Mr. Walker and his team currently look like the smartest team around: they are the only energy company that is up in the last 365 days (well, them and Chevron who made a $1b in the process). For the privilege, they paid themselves a $300 mm package - a package that was rejected by 71% of shareholders in a non-binding vote after the merger…any guesses on what will happen? The irony-...

When a samurai warrior brought shame to their house, redemption was in the form of seppuku. A bit extreme for our times, but something to keep in mind. For 9 months, I have advocated for consolidation at fair relative valuations to increase profitability. But, like my arguments to aggressively drop rig activity in Dec 2018, recommendations have fallen on deaf ears and now, it is too late. To prove it - I present exhibit A - the...

I love professional sports. It is as close to merit based as you can get. There are 10,000 kids who all start out dreaming of playing pro and for those 10,000- there is 1 spot. One. So you differentiate yourself; you train while your friends are partying; and (especially) when the scouts are watching- you light the world on fire and you earn your spot. But- when you are off your game for any duration of time - you...

As many of you know from reading my hottakes, I love me some Vicki Hollub. Forget her bidding for (and winning) Anadarko; or selling assets to Total before the deal closed; or even raising money from Buffet. She gave a town hall to Anadarko employees to explain the vision and the future that got 5 stars across the board on Yelp. We need more CEOs like her. The $APC merger will be her legacy; whether it succeeds or fails. And so will go her time...

Ding Ding Ding! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a heavyweight bout! In the corner to my left, Vicki Hollub, my personal Industry hero and super stud. To my right, the man, the myth, the legend - Carl Icahn. Aggressive CEO vs. Activist investor. FINALLY!! I was driving when Mr.Icahn released his letter but I was so excited to read it, I convinced my family to do a dramatic reading. And it was worth it! Mr. Icahn went right to the core of...

Dear Callon, I know that I have been posting a lot of material on LinkedIn and encouraging companies to merge and embrace the synergy. However…. I wasn’t talking about YOU being an acquirer!! You were supposed to be bought by a larger company and ride off into the sunset. As you may have seen from your stock performance yesterday - everyone on earth but your Board agrees with me on that. Hopefully I’m not too pointed when I...