Findings
§
Total acquisitions and divestitures by foreign direct investors (FDI) in the U.S. energy
industry fell 18 percent in 2005, with much of the decline attributable to divestitures.
§
Acquisitions by
FDI declined moderately, with most of the fall due to lower levels of
investment in electric power.
§
Divestitures by
FDI fell 33 percent, their lowest level since 1999, with both coal and
petroleum refining and marketing and mid/downstream natural gas falling to
nearly zero.
§
The largest
acquisition was Norsk Hydro’s (Norway)
purchase of Spinnaker Exploration, an oil and gas producer with assets largely
in the Gulf of Mexico.
§
The largest
divestiture was Credit Suisse’s (Switzerland) sale of American
Ref-Fuel Holdings, an owner and operator of waste-to-energy facilities.
Background and Definitions
Foreign direct investment
is the ownership or control of 10 percent or more of a U.S. company by
a foreign investor. Acquisitions and divestitures by foreign
direct investors (FDI) are purchases and sales, made directly or indirectly, of
U.S.
businesses (or assets) where either the buyer or the seller, but not both, is a
foreign direct investor. EIA issues an update of acquisitions and
divestitures by FDI in U.S.
energy assets each year. The information presented here is derived from company
reports and press releases, industry publications, The Online Transaction
Roster maintained by FactSet Mergerstat, and company filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Because not all acquisitions and
divestitures of private assets nor the ownership of some private companies
necessarily become public knowledge, the set of transactions reported here may
be incomplete.