Australian energy majors Woodside and Santos have stopped all discussions regarding an A$85.7bn ($55.9bn) merger.
The two confirmed media speculations regarding the merger at the start of December last year. At the time, Woodside said that the discussions remained confidential and incomplete and that there was no certainty that negotiations would lead to a transaction.
Woodside, worth around A$61.6bn, and Santos, worth around A$24bn, are no strangers to mergers as in the past as Woodside bought BHP’s oil and gas portfolio in 2022, forming a top 10 independent energy firm, while Santos bought Oil Search in 2021.
For now, the reasons for the end of discussions, which could have resulted in the creation of a global oil and gas giant, remain undisclosed but Woodside stated that it would continue to assess a range of organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
“We continue to be disciplined in our approach to mergers and acquisitions and capital management to create and deliver value for shareholders. While the discussions with Santos did not result in a transaction, Woodside considers that the global LNG sector provides significant potential for value creation,” said Meg O’Neill, Woodside CEO.
In a separate statement, Santos said that sufficient combination benefits were not identified to support a merger that would be in the best interests of Santos shareholders following an initial exchange of information.
