Denver-based Bonanza Creek Energy agrees to merger

DENVER – Bonanza Creek Energy, which emerged from bankruptcy protection in April, has reached a merger agreement with SandRidge Energy of Oklahoma City.

The Denver Post reports that SandRidge will pay $36 for each share of Denver-based Bonanza Creek, consisting of $19.20 a share in cash and $16.80 in SandRidge shares. That works out to a price tag of $746 million, based on the closing price of SandRidge shares on Tuesday.

Bonanza Creek shareholders will own about a third of SandRidge’s equity when the deal, expected to close in the first quarter, is complete.

SandRidge, which is active in the state’s North Park Basin, will gain about 67,000 acres in rural Weld County, as well as holdings in Arkansas’ Cotton Valley.

Bonanza Creek, which struggled following a drop in oil prices in late 2014, shed $850 million in debt following a bankruptcy restructuring in December. Bill Barrett, another Denver producer, made an unsolicited and unsuccessful offer to acquire Bonanza Creek in January.

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