SYDNEY: Woodside Energy has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding common stock of Tellurian (NYSE: TELL) including its owned and operated US Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG development opportunity.
The consideration for the transaction is an all-cash payment of approximately $900 million, or $1.00
per share of outstanding Tellurian common stock.
The implied enterprise value is approximately $1,200 million.
This represents an attractive entry into an opportunity with more than $1 billion of
expenditure incurred to date.
“The acquisition of Tellurian and its Driftwood LNG development opportunity positions Woodside to be a global LNG powerhouse,” said Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill.
“It adds a scalable US LNG development opportunity to our existing approximately 10 Mtpa of equity LNG in Australia. Having a complementary US position would allow us to better serve customers
globally and capture further marketing optimisation opportunities across both the Atlantic and
Pacific Basins.
“The Driftwood LNG development opportunity is competitively advantaged. Woodside expects to
leverage its global LNG expertise to unlock this fully permitted development and expand our relationship with Bechtel which is the EPC contractor for both Driftwood LNG and our Pluto Train 2
project in Australia.
“Through this acquisition, we are delivering on our strategy to thrive through the energy transition.
Woodside believes that LNG will play a key role in the energy transition and is well positioned to deliver the energy the world needs while delivering significant value to our shareholders.”
Driftwood LNG is a fully permitted, pre-final investment decision (FID) development opportunity located near Lake Charles, Louisiana. The current development plan comprises five LNG trains through four phases, with a total permitted capacity of 27.6 Mtpa.
Under the proposed transaction Woodside, or a wholly owned subsidiary of Woodside, will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Tellurian Inc.
Tellurian’s Board of Directors has approved the transaction and has recommended that its shareholders approve the transaction.
The transaction is targeting completion in the fourth quarter of the 2024 calendar year.
The transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary conditions precedent, including maintenance of validity for existing authorisations (e.g. Department of Energy (DOE) and FERC), Tellurian
shareholder approval, regulatory approval and other approvals.
In connection with entry into a binding agreement to acquire Tellurian, Woodside will provide a loan to Tellurian of up to $230 million to ensure Driftwood LNG site activity and de-risking activities maintain
momentum prior to completion of the transaction.
The loan is secured by a first priority lien over the borrower’s assets subject to customary exclusions. The latest maturity date for the loan is 15 December 2024 or the date of transaction completion.
Woodside’s sole financial adviser is PJT Partners and its legal adviser is Norton Rose Fulbright.