In the 1990s U.S. bankers were consolidating. My own career spans several bank mergers. Manufacturers Hanover merged with Chemical Bank in 1992, followed by Chase Manhattan in 1996 and JPMorgan in 2000. Other smaller deals occurred along the way, such as Hambrecht & Quist in 1999, and  Robert Fleming in 2000.

I remember then-CEO of Chemical Bank, Bill Harrison, discussing the inevitable consolidation of the banking industry, and how he had a team that was constantly evaluating the synergies of potential combinations. Relative pricing was an important consideration. Weakness in one bank’s stock could attract others who had already assessed a potential fit. Harrison had a mixed record at mergers until the combination with JPMorgan led to Jamie Dimon eventually running the company. Bill’s final deal left investors in good hands.

Chevron’s (CVX) acquisition of Anadarko (APC) last week reminded me of this. The relative pricing chart that CVX CEO Mike Wirth used in Friday’s call provided a useful insight into how they approached the deal.

Over the past year, stock prices for the integrated oil companies (IOCs) have outperformed the independent U.S. shale drillers. In terms of CVX’s currency (its stock), APC became cheaper. In effect, the market was pushing for this deal, by steadily improving its attractiveness to CVX. Investors want the world’s biggest companies managing shale oil and gas output.

It wasn’t always this way. In the early days of the Shale Revolution, independent companies like Pioneer Resources (PXD), EOG and others led the way. They had a willingness to experiment with different approaches while the industry sought the most effective techniques to unlock this new resource. Observers felt at the time that IOCs were poorly suited to the type of constant disruptive innovation at which smaller companies can excel.

Recognizing the unconventional thinking required to exploit this unconventional resource, huge companies like Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) created new divisions with considerable autonomy to innovate. It echoed the “skunkworks” popularized by Clayton Christensen in The Innovators Dilemma. His premise was that big companies were too often so invested in their existing products and processes that they were unable to see the threat posed by more nimble innovators. And in the early years of the Shale Revolution, IOCs were generally absent because unconventional plays didn’t fit their conventional thinking.

Frequent failures with their associated learning curve were protected from the centrally-imposed financial discipline that usually prevails. RDS enjoyed sufficient success with this approach that they applied some of the lessons across the company.

The CVX/APC deal highlights how things have changed. IOCs are no longer focused on trying to act like a small company practicing rapid innovation. Instead, they’re applying the scale and efficiencies of a big company to drilling techniques that are now well established. It’s the next stage in the Shale Revolution.

Equity markets accelerated this development, by assigning higher valuations to larger companies versus independents. CVX exploited this in their APC acquisition. It’s likely to spur consideration of other match-ups. Pipeline customers will be increasingly well-capitalized with properly funded, long term production plans. This should only be good news for investors in midstream energy infrastructure.

SL Advisors is the sub-advisor to the Catalyst MLP & Infrastructure Fund.  To learn more about the Fund,  please click here.

SL Advisors is also the advisor to an ETF (USAIETF.com).

Important Disclosures

The information provided is for informational purposes only and investors should determine for themselves whether a particular service, security or product is suitable for their investment needs. The information contained herein is not complete, may not be current, is subject to change, and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the more complete disclosures, risk factors and other terms that are contained in the disclosure, prospectus, and offering. Certain information herein has been obtained from third party sources and, although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified and its accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. No representation is made with respect to the accuracy,  completeness or timeliness of this information. Nothing provided on this site constitutes tax advice. Individuals should seek the advice of their own tax advisor for specific information regarding tax consequences of investments.  Investments in securities entail risk and are not suitable for all investors. This site is not a recommendation nor an offer to sell (or solicitation of an offer to buy) securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

References to indexes and benchmarks are hypothetical illustrations of aggregate returns and do not reflect the performance of any actual investment. Investors cannot invest in an index and do not reflect the deduction of the advisor’s fees or other trading expenses. There can be no assurance that current investments will be profitable. Actual realized returns will depend on, among other factors, the value of assets and market conditions at the time of disposition, any related transaction costs, and the timing of the purchase. Indexes and benchmarks may not directly correlate or only partially relate to portfolios managed by SL Advisors as they have different underlying investments and may use different strategies or have different objectives than portfolios managed by SL Advisors (e.g. The Alerian index is a group MLP securities in the oil and gas industries. Portfolios may not include the same investments that are included in the Alerian Index. The S & P Index does not directly relate to investment strategies managed by SL Advisers.)

This site may contain forward-looking statements relating to the objectives, opportunities, and the future performance of the U.S. market generally. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of such words as; “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential” and other similar terms. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to financial condition, results of operations, and success or lack of success of any particular investment strategy. All are subject to various factors, including, but not limited to general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in interest rates, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting a portfolio’s operations that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Such statements are forward-looking in nature and involves a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or examples. None of SL Advisors LLC or any of its affiliates or principals nor any other individual or entity assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, subsequent events or any other circumstances. All statements made herein speak only as of the date that they were made. r

Certain hyperlinks or referenced websites on the Site, if any, are for your convenience and forward you to third parties’ websites, which generally are recognized by their top level domain name. Any descriptions of, references to, or links to other products, publications or services does not constitute an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship by or affiliation with SL Advisors LLC with respect to any linked site or its sponsor, unless expressly stated by SL Advisors LLC. Any such information, products or sites have not necessarily been reviewed by SL Advisors LLC and are provided or maintained by third parties over whom SL Advisors LLC exercise no control. SL Advisors LLC expressly disclaim any responsibility for the content, the accuracy of the information, and/or quality of products or services provided by or advertised on these third-party sites.

All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will be suitable or profitable for a client’s investment portfolio.

Past performance of the American Energy Independence Index is not indicative of future returns.