PDC Energy Inc. PDCE, 15.55% announced Monday an agreement to buy Great Western Petroleum LLC, a Denver-Julesburg Basin operator, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.3 billion. Oil and gas producer PDC said the acquisition will be funded through the issuance of 4.0 million shares of common stock to Great Western shareholders and about $543 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. PDC said the deal “materially increases” its scale through the acquisition of about 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. PDC’s stock, which edged up 0.2% in premarket trading, has gained 7.8% over the past three months through Friday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF XLE, 1.76% has run up 23.9% and the S&P 500 SPX, -1.22% has slipped 4.6%.
