Contango Oil & Gas Co., an acquisition-minded energy business backed by investors including Texas real estate billionaire John Goff, said it plans to buy bankrupt White Star Petroleum LLC for $132.5 million, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. In an offer that the creditors committee said came in at the 11th hour on Wednesday, the Contango deal surpasses what had started as an $115 million bid by BCE-Mach LLC, a partnership led by Chesapeake Energy Corp. co-founder Tom Ward. Publicly traded Contango on Friday said that the closing of the White Star deal is subject to due diligence, finalization of documents and the entry of an order from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oklahoma City approving the sale. The proposed deal marks at least the second acquisition Contango has announced this month. The Houston-based company also said it planned to buy certain Will Energy Corp. properties in North Louisiana, the Western Anadarko Basin in Western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle for $23 million.
