With crude oil prices diving below $30 a barrel again Monday morning, announcing a change in top management at an already-weakened master limited partnership (MLP) is having a huge negative impact on its stock price. Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE: ETE) shares traded down nearly 30% at one point Monday morning and traded down about 25% after Friday’s announcement that the company was changing chief financial officers (CFOs) in mid-acquisition. Energy Transfer Equity has an outstanding offer valued at around $38 billion for Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB).
On Friday, Energy Transfer Equity said it was replacing CFO Jamie Welch with Thomas E. Long, who is currently the CFO of Energy Transfer Partners LLC, owner of the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP). Long will be responsible for all financial aspects of the entire family of partnerships under Energy Transfer Equity, including Energy Transfer Partners, Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXL) and Sunoco L.P. (NYSE: SUN). Energy Transfer Equity owns 100% of Energy Transfer Partners LLC.
Bright and early Monday morning, Energy Transfer Equity released a statement in which the company said that it is in discussions with Welch regarding a potential consulting arrangement related “primarily to the continued development of the Partnership’s LNG export project” although the company was quick to add that “no agreements have been reached.”
The second thing of note is that Monday’s announcement also included a variation on the standard statement that typically accompanies a CFO’s departure:
In addition, in response to inquiries from various parties, the Partnership affirms that the replacement of Mr. Welch as Chief Financial Officer of the Partnership was not based on any disagreement with respect to any accounting or financial matter involving the Partnership or any of its affiliates.
The statement was not included in Friday’s announcement of Welch’s departure.
Energy Transfer Equity traded down about 26% in morning trading, at $5.16, after posting a new 52-week low of $4.44 earlier in the session. The stock’s 52-week high is $35.44.
The Average American Is Losing Momentum On Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4%1 today. Checking accounts are even worse.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying more than 7x the national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn a $200 bonus and up to 7X the national average with qualifying deposits. Terms apply. Member, FDIC.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.