Energy M&A powers into the record books: Deal activity jumps by over a third in 2017
Energy and power M&A activity is at an all-time high at the start of 2017, with nearly $66bn (£53bn) of deals announced this year.
Deal activity is 36 per cent higher in the sector compared with the same period last year and the best start to a calendar year since records began in the 1980s, according to Thomson Reuters.
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The largest transaction of 2017 was by US-based pipeline firm Oneok, which purchased the final 22 per cent of the pipeline partnership it doesn't already own for $9.3bn. Other sizable deals included Bopco's $6.6bn sale to Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell's $3.8bn sale of North Sea assets to Chrysaor.
The Shell sale is one part of the FTSE 100 firm's wider $30bn divestment programme of non-core assets.
Activity in the sector over the last 12 months increased a slightly steadier pace. But with total deals worth $629bn there was increase of 17 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.
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The analysis revealed energy and power was one of only two sectors where M&A activity had grown over the last year – the other being media and entertainment.
The largest single deal since February 2016 was Sunoco's purchase of Energy Transfer Partners for $51bn.