Post says Talisman wins analyst approval on Hallwood
2008-06-12 09:31 ET - In the News
The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Talisman Energy's acquisition and technical services agreement with Hallwood Energy LP should take a bite out of the company's new strategy to grow its unconventional natural gas business. The Post's David Pett, writing in Trading Desk, says that is the view of Raymond James analyst Stephen Calderwood. As part of the agreement, Hallwood technical staff will help Talisman develop identified shale plays including the Montney shale in British Columbia, the Bakken in Saskatchewan, the Utica shale in Quebec and the Marcellus shale in the U.S. Northeast. In return, Talisman's technical staff will help Hallwood, whose parent is Hallwood Group Inc., develop the Deep Barnett and Woodford shales in Texas and the Fayetteville shales in Arkansas and earn a one-third working interest in Hallwood's U.S. properties. Hallwood has a land position of 17,000 net acres in West Texas, 24,500 net acres in Fayetteville and 285,000 net acres in Central Eastern Arkansas that have yet to be evaluated. Mr. Calderwood kept his "outperform" rating and his $30 price target. Also favouring the deal is UBS analyst Andrew Potter. He kept his "buy" rating and $30 price target.