Last week, Access Midstream Partners ("ACMP") announced a transformational acquisition where it agreed to acquire Chesapeake Energy's (CHK) Chesapeake Midstream Development (CMD) assets for $2.16 billion in cash. ACMP is a midstream MLP, which had been part of the CHK family until this past summer, when CHK sold its limited partner and general partner interests in ACMP to private equity funds run by Global Infrastructure Partners. CHK is the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States; and as we know, CHK could not get the gas it produces to consumers without the infrastructure provided by companies such as ACMP and CMD.
The acquisition of CHK's CMD assets adds natural gas gathering and...