Excalibur Energy Services LLC has been acquired by Heckmann Corporation

May 2011 — Excalibur Energy Services LLC (Excalibur), a water transportation company servicing the energy sectors in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett Shale region of northern Texas, has been sold to the Heckmann Corporation, a New York company chartered with purchasing businesses in water-related services for oil and natural gas exploration and production, for US$27 million.

Prior to the acquisition, Excalibur had grown its revenue to US$40 million annually over five years, supporting gas exploration companies with the removal of both fresh water and produced water. Given the immense capital requirements needed to sustain and expand operations, company shareholders decided that selling the business to a well-capitalized firm offered the greatest prospects for long-term growth.

Heckmann Corporation is a services-based company focused on total water solutions for shale or unconventional oil and gas exploration. The company’s water solutions for the energy development segment is called Heckman Water Resources, or HWR, and includes water disposal, trucking, fluids handling, treatment and pipeline transport facilities, and water infrastructure services for oil and gas exploration and production companies. Through these operations, HWR offers an integrated and efficient full service water program for hydraulic fracturing operations. Heckmann Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary China Water and Drinks, Inc. produces and distributes bottled water products in the People’s Republic of China.

Our role in the transaction

Oaklins' team in Dallas advised the seller in this transaction, having weathered a long acquisition process through an extremely difficult market environment to secure an excellent deal for its client. The principals contacted the Dallas team towards the end of 2007, just as the price of oil began its meteoric rise into the summer of 2008. The subsequent 80% crash in oil prices, coupled with the recession, complicated the acquisition process both in terms of company valuation as well as buyer prospects. Over the next two years, Oaklins' Dallas team secured several formal offers. When the Heckmann Corporation offer began to materialize, the team initiated a comprehensive closing process, during which the team’s experience in negotiating energy-related deals ultimately brought the transaction to completion. At closing, Excalibur’s shareholders received a combination of cash and stock in Heckmann Corporation as part of the final terms of the transaction.