Exxon/XTO's Fracking MAE

There is a piece in today's WSJ on the Exxon/XTO deal.  The piece centers on the controversial practice of hydraulic "fracking" in the drilling process and whether the deal might be stopped in the event Congress moves legislation to ban or limit the practice or otherwise make the practice commercially impracticable.  It turns out that fracking is really central to this deal.  So central that if fracking were made impracticable Exxon would want to walk.  It's no real surprise.  Fracking is part of the reason we've enjoyed a boom in domestic natural gas supplies these last few years.  Take it away and there wouldn't be much left to pursue in the XTO deal I would imagine.  While the WSJ article doesn't come right out and say it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how Exxon might have written in a "fracking" out.  It's right there in the definition of the MAE from the Exxon/XTO merger agreement.  

[1.01] ... “Company Material Adverse Effect” means a material adverse effect on  the financial condition, business, assets or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, excluding any effect resulting from, arising out of or relating to (A) changes in the financial or securities markets or general economic or political conditions in the United States or elsewhere in the world, (B) other than with respect to changes to Applicable Laws related to hydraulic fracturing or similar processes that would reasonably be expected to have the effect of making illegal or commercially impracticable such hydraulic fracturing or similar processes (which changes may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Company Material Adverse Effect), changes or conditions generally affecting the oil and gas exploration, development and/or production industry or industries (including changes in oil, gas or other commodity prices), (C) other than with respect to changes to Applicable Laws related to hydraulic fracturing or similar processes that would reasonably be expected to have the effect of making illegal or commercially impracticable such hydraulic fracturing or similar processes (which changes may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Company Material Adverse Effect), any change in Applicable Law or the interpretation thereof or GAAP or the interpretation thereof, [italics mine] (D) the negotiation, execution, announcement or consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including any adverse change in customer, distributor, supplier or similar relationships resulting therefrom, (E) acts of war, terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados or other natural disasters, (F) any failure by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to meet any internal or published industry analyst projections or forecasts or estimates of revenues or earnings for any period (it being understood and agreed that the facts and circumstances that may have given rise or contributed to such failure that are not otherwise excluded from the definition of a Company Material Adverse Effect may be taken into account in determining whether there has been a Company Material Adverse Effect), (G) any change in the price of the Company Stock on the NYSE (it being understood and agreed that the facts and circumstances that may have given rise or contributed to such change (but in no event changes in the trading price of Parent Stock) that are not otherwise excluded from the definition of a Company Material Adverse Effect may be taken into... 

Fracking appears not once but twice in the carve-outs to the carve-outs of the MAE - so important is it to the deal.  What the parties have done here is that they have taken the MAE definition, which is typically written to leave foreseeable risks with the buyer and unforeseeable risks with the seller and left a foreseeable and entirely likely risk with the seller.  So, in the event something freaky happens that no one could have foresee, the buyer is able to walk away.  On the other hand, if there is a foreseeable event, one that presumably the buyer could price into the transaction, then the buyer remains in the hook for close the transaction.  Now, a spokesman for Exxon says that the deal is subject to "a number of customary provisions for a transaction of this nature."  

True enough, but I dare say the fact that the parties foresee the risk of legislative changes specific to the business and have written them into the MAE is not quite customary.  It's more like the MAE we saw in the Sallie Mae deal of a couple years ago where parties carved-out from the carve-out legislative changes to educational lending.  The way the Exxon/XTO deal is written, if tomorrow Congress were to ban fracking, then Exxon would get a free option to walk from the deal.

-bjmq