Energy Mergers & Acquisitions Stumble in 2013

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From The Motley Fool:
Last year had all of the markings of a boom year for energy mergers and acquisitions. Consulting firm Ernst & Young noted early in the year that stable oil prices and a recovering banking sector were key signals that suggested 2013 had the potential to produce a record number of energy M&A deals. Instead, 2013 was the worst year for energy M&A since 2008, with activity down by 49% from 2012. 
There were a few reasons why deal volumes were down last year. First, many producers had been using asset sales to fund drilling programs. However, in 2013 many of these companies started to scale back on drilling because the prices assets were fetching on the market didn't justify a sale. Natural gas prices were a prime example of this as fewer companies were willing to unload natural gas assets for a pittance in order to drill elsewhere. This is one reason we saw active sellers like Chesapeake Energy Corporation  (NYSE: CHK  )  unload just $3.6 billion worth of assets in 2013, which is down substantially from the more than $10 billion sold in 2012. One reason for this is that Chesapeake Energy really doesn't have much left to sell. That's in addition to its company's new management team, which is joining a growing trend within the industry to slash capital spending to align with cash flow.   
You can read more about some of the deals that did go down last year and what it all might mean by clicking here. 

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