Shares of Pride International Inc. (NYSE: PDE) are soaring after the company announced that it will merge with Ensco PLC (NYSE: ESV). The companies today announced that they signed a definitive merger agreement under which Ensco will merge with Pride in a stock and cash transaction valued at $41.60 per share. The $41.60 per share offer price is based on Ensco�s closing price on February 4, and represents a premium of 21% over Pride�s closing price on the same day.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pride shareholders will receive 0.4778 newly-issued shares of Ensco and $15.60 in cash for each share of Pride common stock they hold.
The combination of Ensco and Pride is expected to realize annual pre-tax expense synergies of almost $50 million for full year 2012 and beyond.
Commenting on the merger agreement, Louis Raspino, president and CEO of Pride, said that the combination of Pride and Ensco creates an offshore contract driller with many of the attributes needed to ensure long-term success in the company�s business. Raspino further added that Pride shareholders will receive new-issued shares of Ensco that offer them an ongoing interest in a world-class offshore driller with substantial growth potential, as well as a cash component.
Following the announcement of the merger, shares of Pride soared in today�s trading. The stock reached a 52-week high of $40.71 in mid-day trading, and at last check, it was up 15.93% to $39.87, with volume up from daily average 1.88 million to 19.97 million.
Pride is a Houston, Texas-based offshore drilling contractor. The company offers contract drilling services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies through the use of mobile offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. and international waters.
- Need fast service and cheap rates from a broker? Click here to see my favorite place to trade PDE
- Want more? Check out the message board buzz for PDE
- See which newsletters are recommending this stock pick
- Get breakingnews alerts on this stock:� http://thestockmarketwatch.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment