Billionaire investor Carl Icahn may bid to buy Birmingham’s Energen

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Carl Icahn

There’s buzz around the Magic City that billionaire investor Carl Icahn is considering a bid to buy Birmingham-based oil and gas producer Energen Corp. Outlets across the country have begun to speculate as well.

“Activist investor Keith Meister on Monday reunited with billionaire investor Carl Icahn and said in a regulatory filing that they may try to buy oil and gas producer Energen Corp,” wrote Svea Herbst-Bayliss for Reuters. “The announcement comes roughly two months after the Birmingham, Alabama-based company settled a long-simmering fight with Meister’s New York-based hedge fund Corvex Management by agreeing to review its businesses and adding two members to the board.”

The Reuters’ piece continued, “Now Meister and Icahn have laid out a path where they might step into the strategic review process and prepare to take over the company themselves.”

Cara Lombardo and Allison Prang at the Wall Street Journal back up the considerations.

“Activist investors Corvex Management LP and Carl Icahn say they are potentially interested in buying oil-and-gas company Energen Corp.EGN 6.46% , according to a securities filing,” the duo wrote.

Why Energen?

Energen operates exclusively in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico and is focused on return-driven growth from the drilling and development of multiple horizontal shale formations in the Delaware and Midland basins using its Generation 3 frac design.

As of July 1, 2017, the company has identified 4,116 net engineered, unrisked, potential drilling locations in the Delaware and Midland basins with an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil-equivalent, net, undeveloped resource potential.

And the company is doing well for itself in 2018. Energen’s net income more than tripled to $118.9 million, or $1.22 per share in the first quarter of the year, from $33.4 million, or 34 cents per share, just a year ago.

“In the first quarter of 2018, Energen built on the strong execution, growth, and financial strength it demonstrated in 2017,” said James McManus, Energen’s chairman and chief executive officer. “In short, we are extremely pleased with our performance in the quarter and confident that Energen is well-positioned to continue delivering strong results and creating shareholder value.”