Metals

An investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (KKR) has agreed to pay $7.2 billion for Samson Investment Co. of Tulsa, one of the largest privately held exploration and production (E&P) companies in the United States. The deal gives KKR and its partners stakes in a number of unconventional resources plays.

CME Group has completed its New York trading floor integration of energy and metals futures and options, “a key milestone” following its 2008 acquisition of Nymex Holdings, parent of the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the company said Monday. The integration was completed in two phases: first the reconfiguration of the energy trading floor on April 20, and combining the trading rings onto one trading floor Monday. “We have consolidated two major trading floors into one vibrant facility at our Nymex world headquarters in Lower Manhattan,” said Terry Duffy, CME Group executive chairman. “We are confident that combining several markets into our trading rings will give members and customers access to greater liquidity on our New York trading floor. We look forward to moving forward with the integration of our clearing systems in the third quarter of this year.” The combined New York trading floor, which represents CME Group’s continuing commitment to New York City as a global financial center, is now home to open outcry trading for Nymex and Comex futures and options, including crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium. CME Group expects its integration of Nymex to be substantially complete in 4Q2009. CME Group CEO Craig Donohue said the successful integration of the New York trading facilities occurred within nine months of the acquisition. “As a result of our successful integration efforts to date, we are on track to realize $60 million in annual cost synergies by the end of this year,” he said.

Seemingly unfazed by depressed energy commodity prices and volatility, Sempra Energy senior executives hauled out the superlatives Tuesday for its joint venture in energy and metals commodity trading, RBS Sempra Commodities, announcing a nearly 100% quarter-over-quarter increase in profits, a new CEO and an integration of its Connecticut-based trading floor into one of North America’s largest operations. Sempra’s leaders made the comments during a first quarter conference call with financial analysts.

RBS Sempra Commodities, the joint venture energy and metals trading business of UK-based Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and San Diego-based Sempra Energy, hired a new CEO, Kaushik Amin, who most recently spent 14 years at Lehman Brothers where he rose to head the investment bank’s trading operations. Amin will report to Peter Nielsen, global head of markets at RBS’ global banking and markets division. Amin replaces David Messer, who resigned the RBS Sempra CEO position in late March (see Daily GPI, March 26). In the interim, Sempra CFO Mark Snell and Jeremy Wright, chief administrative officer of RBS Markets, had jointly headed the commodities trading joint venture. Amin holds a mechanical engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, India, and a master’s degree in operations research and a Ph.D. in finance from Cornell University.

As more trading volume swings to the electronic marketplace, Nymex Holdings, parent company of the more than 130-year-old physical energy and metals trading New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), is allegedly in talks with potential suitors to sell itself.

As more trading volume swings to the electronic marketplace, Nymex Holdings, parent company of the more than 130 year-old physical energy and metals trading New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), is allegedly in talks with potential suitors to sell itself.

Natural gas buyers, from metals companies to food and paper processing conglomerates, power generators and some of the largest chain stores, all will be attending the GasMart 2007 conference hosted by Intelligence Press Inc. (IPI) in the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in downtown Chicago, May 9-11. This 21st annual event features an all-new focus on its exclusive Market Network Center where buyers and sellers meet.

Natural gas buyers, from metals companies to food and paper processing conglomerates, and some of the largest chain stores, will be attending the GasMart 2007 conference hosted by Intelligence Press Inc. (IPI) in the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel in downtown Chicago, May 9-11. This 21st annual event features an all-new focus on its exclusive Market Network Center where buyers and sellers meet.

With its commodities unit quadrupling its quarterly results, San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy reported increased third quarter results compared to the same quarter last year after excluding numerous one-time items, such as a $189 million after-tax boost for outstanding litigation reserves.