Weatherford Cancels Proposed New Offerings

In the evening announcement Weatherford said:

While investor interest was strong for this offering, we are unwilling to sell securities at prices that do not reflect the value we have created at Weatherford. The Company continues on its resolute course of focusing on its core businesses and the efficiency of its operations. The Company also continues to expect to deliver positive free cash flow in 2015 and years beyond, has ample liquidity, and remains focused on generating strong returns for our shareholders.

In other words, investors were looking to kick us while we’re down and they can just forget about it.

Existing shareholders are breathing a sigh of relief at the news that their stakes will not suffer more dilution. The stock opened Tuesday up nearly 10%, at $9.32 per share. On Monday the stock opened at $9.39.

Weatherford did not say what it plans to do without the $1 billion it had once hoped to raise. We can infer that an acquisition is off the table and that Weatherford’s borrowing may have to rise. The company also likely will look for ways further to reduce its costs in order to deliver on its expectation of increased free cash flow.

Shares traded up about 8.6% at $9.13 nearly an hour after Tuesday’s opening bell. The stock’s 52-week range is $7.21 to $21.69.

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