Williams, which wooed away gas-rich Denver-based independent Barrett Resources Corp. from oil giant Shell Corp. earlier this year (see Daily GPI, May 8), completed the marriage Thursday when Barrett shareholders approved the merger in a special meeting in Denver. In less than a week, Williams will begin distributing the materials necessary for Barrett shareholders to exchange their shares for Williams shares.

Williams signed a merger agreement with Barrett in May, which included a cash tender offer by Williams for 50% of Barrett shares at $73 per share net in cash. The offer was completed on June 11. Through the merger, in which Barrett becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams, each remaining share of Barrett stock, other than shares held by Williams, was converted into the right to receive 1.767 shares of Williams common stock, and Barrett shareholders will receive cash in exchange for fractional Williams shares.

“We are very excited about the completion of the merger for a variety of reasons, one being Barrett’s talented workforce and its expertise in the Rocky Mountain natural gas basins,” said Stephen J. Malcolm, executive vice president of Williams and CEO of Williams Energy Services. “Barrett’s assets are a complementary fit with Williams’ existing assets and goals companywide. They offer synergies to Williams’ horizontal assets as well as a natural hedge to our growing power portfolio.”

As of Thursday, Barrett is no longer traded on the New York Stock Exchange and it will be delisted from the exchange. The new management structure for Williams’ exploration and production group will be Ralph Hill, senior vice president and general manager; Bryan Guderian, vice president Tulsa region; Joe Jaggers, vice president Denver region; and Neal Buck, vice president commercial operations and gas management.

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