Stone Energy Corp. said Friday its board of directors will consider an unsolicited $1.43 billion cash-and-stock proposal from New Orleans-based Energy Partners Ltd., which would dislodge an all-stock offer in April by Plains Exploration and Production Co.

In April, Stone entered into a merger agreement with Plains in a stock-for-stock transaction estimated at the time to be worth about $1.9 billion (see Daily GPI, April 25). Under the terms of the agreement with Plains, Stone stockholders will receive 1.25 shares of Plains common stock for each Stone share they own. Stone said the definitive merger agreement with Plains remains in effect. However, the value of Plains’ bid dropped after its stock price tumbled almost 21% following the bid, and the merger offer from Plains was valued at about $1.19 billion on Thursday.

Both Plains and Energy Partners offers would assume about $483 million in net debt from Lafayette, LA-based Stone. Most of Stone’s assets are in the Gulf of Mexico; Energy Partners also holds extensive assets offshore. Most of Houston-based Plains’ properties are onshore in Texas and California, but it has some offshore assets.

“The Gulf [of Mexico] is the best geologic basin in this country, bar none, and carries with it the best economics,” said Energy Partners CEO Rick Bachmann of the Stone offer. Combined, Bachmann said the companies could achieve significant cost savings in offshore oilfield services.

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