Chesapeake Valuation Seen Luring Major Oil Merger Deal: Real M&A

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s depressed valuation is making the company a potential target for acquirers willing to bet that natural-gas prices will rebound from a decade low.

Chesapeake’s equity and net debt was valued yesterday at $9.19 for each barrel of oil equivalent, the lowest among U.S. oil and gas explorers with market capitalizations greater than $5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While a stock purchase by Carl Icahn helped the $11 billion company’s shares rebound in the past week, Chesapeake was still down 27 percent in 2012 amid investigations into Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon’s personal loans backed by stakes in company-operated wells.