Energy Transfer Equity LP cancelled an agreement to acquire Williams Cos. after 18 months of negotiations, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Williams will remain an independent company while Energy Transfer will seek new opportunities for growth.
A statement released on Wednesday announced the decision canceling the $33 billion deal after a Delaware judge delivered a ruling last week allowing the termination of the contract since Williams had failed to procure the signatures of lawyers on a tax opinion document.
Investors assumed the deal would be cancelled after the ruling was announced, but Williams' shareholders attempted to save the deal by voting in favor of the takeover.
Analysts say the deal is one of the biggest to be undone due to chronically low oil prices. The collapse of crude oil prices earlier this year caused both companies to lose around a third of their market value, which strained the relationship between the rival pipeline firms and caused executives to question the economics of the deal.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Williams will appeal the judge's ruling because the firm does not believe Energy Transfer has the legal right to terminate the deal.
Related: OPEC Needs 650,000 bpd To Avoid Global Supply Deficit
"Williams has concluded that it is in the best interests of its stockholders to seek, among other remedies, monetary damages from ETE for its breaches," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The company that would have been bought out has said earlier that the failure of the deal would cost it between $4 billion and $10 billion in value for invested stakeholders.
Williams will be focusing on becoming a new player in the natural gas market, a company spokesperson added.
Energy Transfer's stock prices rose almost four percent to $14.97 on Thursday, while Williams' rate fell to $20.52.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More
Comments