KPMG Says Woodside Investors To Benefit From $40B Merger With BHP Petroleum Arm: Reuters

According to an independent expert, Woodside Petroleum Ltd's WOPEY merger agreement with BHP Group Ltd's BHP petroleum arm is in the best interest of its shareholders, valuing the combined group at around $40 billion.

Accounting firm KPMG assessed the value of the combined group at between $37.2 billion and $42.3 billion, equivalent to A$26.25 - A$29.81 in per-share valuation.

"Based on these measures, the proposed transaction is, in our opinion, fair to Woodside shareholders," KPMG said in a report commissioned by Woodside.

KPMG's valuation of the combined group was below estimates by UBS and Credit Suisse, at about A$34.60 a share and A$33 a share, respectively, based on the banks' current oil price outlooks.

Credit Suisse analyst said KPMG's report did not put as much light on BHP's growth prospects as hoped.

The analyst also noted that the cash flow profile showed a slight increase in free cash flow despite Woodside's Scarborough gas project coming online in 2026, which he said "may flag risk of decline elsewhere, including at Pluto/Sangomar/North West Shelf."

KPMG highlighted BHP assets being handed over debt-free, which would lower the combined group's gearing to around 8%, compared with Woodside's target gearing of 15% to 35%.

In a separate announcement, BHP said that based on Woodside's share price of $25.55 on April 6, the implied value of BHP Petroleum is $23.4 billion.

Woodside expects to achieve over $400 million in cost savings from combining the two groups by early 2024. It would require one-off costs of up to $600 million in the first two years.

Price Action: BHP shares are up 1.24% at $78.31 during the premarket session on the last check Friday.

Photo by Michael Coghlan via Flickr