Private equity ready to play M&A role
The capital is there, but the amount and cost of funding may be less favourable than it has been in the past.
Much has been made of the difficulties some private equity investors have had with US shale assets given a track record of poorer-than-expected returns on capital, open-ended opex demands and few attractive exit options. But the panellists for PE Live 2 webcast still see private equity playing an active role in any M&A that follows the current price slump. “Private equity funds are obviously well-placed in terms of the capital they have available awaiting deployment,” says Anthony Patten, oil & gas group head at law firm Shearman & Sterling. “And they have moved away beyond just their traditional midstream oil and gas infrastructure and embraced the upstream across multiple juris
Also in this section
28 March 2024
As a gas supply shortfall looms, balancing regulatory flexibility with energy security and investor confidence will be critical
27 March 2024
Oil producers have to untangle the increasingly complicated relationship with their natural resources
26 March 2024
Strategic stocks have become as much a market management tool as a security of supply buffer, and this new tactic is likely to continue beyond the next election
25 March 2024
Low carbon intensity and sizeable projects such as Johan Castberg coming onstream in late 2024 suggest a robust outlook at least until 2030