Apache Corp., the oil explorer worth more than $18 billion, has received an unsolicited takeover approach for a deal that would be the largest for an independent producer in the U.S. this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apache rejected the initial offer and is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on a defense strategy, said the people, who asked not to be identified because deliberations are private. The potential buyer, who couldn’t immediately be identified, sent a letter to Apache in the past few weeks and it’s unclear whether talks will resume, one of the people said.
A high-flying producer during the shale boom of the 2000s, Apache has chronically under-performed in recent years, largely because of bad bets on major projects in Argentina and Australia that didn’t pan out. The company, which appointed a new chief executive in January, has been selling off lackluster properties in Texas and Australia amid a sustained depression of crude prices. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-08/apache-said-to-get-takeover-approach-for-18-billion-oil-company