- 53 -
further sought geographic and geologic diversification. In
particular, petitioner desired to expand outside of the Hugoton
field into the Gulf Coast region and to broaden its production
mix by acquiring more oil reserves. Additionally, petitioner
sought targets in the $10 to $25 million range. During 1986,
petitioner considered numerous acquisition opportunities.
However, petitioner, prior to the Tri-Power acquisition, was
wholly unsuccessful in its acquisition efforts. Petitioner
decided to acquire Tri-Power because, after a thorough
investigation, petitioner determined that Tri-Power satisfied all
of its acquisition limitations. Following the Tri-Power
acquisition, petitioner actively pursued further development of
the Tri-Power properties. Petitioner also continued vigorously
to pursue its acquisition policy. During the years following the
Tri-Power acquisition, petitioner continued to build its reserve
base with the acquisition of over 17 oil and gas companies. On
the basis of the record in the instant case, we conclude that
petitioner's actions both before and after the acquisition of
Tri-Power are wholly consistent with its stated reserve
acquisition policy. Additionally, we note that NOL's were not
among petitioner's predefined acquisition limitations, which
supports the conclusion that petitioner did not set out to
acquire a loss company.
Page: Previous 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011