
TSE:VET
TOU-T vs. VET-T. He owns neither. If he had VET-T he would ask himself if he liked the dividend or would prefer more capital appreciation. If the latter, then there are better names. If you are bullish on oil, TOU-T it trying to increase their liquids rating with a token of a dividend and modest growth levels going forward. He does not get excited about it. He would own it if he was bullish on gas. He does not expect a pop.
They acquired Spartan Energy, which gives them a low-cost Saskatchewan producer and a lot of light oil, which is easy to move. Their balance sheet has improved significantly. They had $1.36 billion in debt with $1.57 in equity. That’s a tight balance sheet. After the acquisition, which was an all-stock deal, they’ll have $1.5 billion of debt against $2.8 billion in equity. This gives them more oil in Canada and a much better balance sheet. He thinks this is an interesting story, the price has come down and thinks it is a good value if it breaks below $40. Spartan was a good buy for them and the next buys will probably be international.
He is looking at Vermillion in its role as the buyer of Spartan Energy. He thinks Vermillion is well run and gives the benefit of international exposure. They have a strong enough balance sheet and they have made the dividend more sustainable. Spartan is being sold to VET at a cheap valuation. This is a very high quality company that he wouldn’t own because it trades at a high multiple. He believes that the market is approaching an inflection point in sentiment, that will have a much bigger impact on the well-run companies that are not liked as much as Vermillion.