- Analysts generally are modestly positive on Kinder Morgan's (NYSE:KMI) $3B deal for Harold Hamm's Hiland Partners pipeline network, as "the accretion should support a slight acceleration to KMI's prior dividend forecast despite what otherwise looks like an expensive transaction."
- KMI shares ended barely above unchanged as the broader stock market roared higher, as investors may have thought that Richard Kinder was not conservative enough in assessing the deal; "It doesn’t look especially cheap on the up-front numbers," a Tudor Pickering analyst said, but "they’re trying to take advantage of what they view as a down market in the Bakken."
- For Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) head man Hamm, selling off his personally owned pipelines gives him lots of dry powder in case he decides to buy any troubled smaller oil companies, plus the personal cash losses from his nasty divorce are well documented.
- But Hamm may have gained a better deal than anyone realizes: A judge in the divorce proceedings valued Hamm's 62% stake in Hiland at just $248M.