Shale driller Alta Mesa Resources Inc. won permission from a bankruptcy judge to market its assets again now that a potential buyer is seeking to change a $320 million sale offer, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The once-vaunted oil company requested putting itself back on the market after a venture between Bayou City Energy Management LLC and Mach Resources LLC failed to get the financing it needed and sought a cheaper purchase price. The proposed buyer, BCE-Mach III LLC, has indicated “they aren’t prepared to perform at the contractually agreed price,” Alta Mesa lawyer Paul Genender said at a hearing Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. The buyer said on Monday that it couldn’t close on its purchase because of the turmoil roiling U.S. energy markets, which have plunged over the past week as the coronavirus pandemic and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia spooked investors. BCE-Mach said it couldn’t lock down a financing package with UBS AG or with alternative capital sources to fund the Alta Mesa buy. Alta Mesa has asked for a court order finding that BCE-Mach had breached its obligations and compelling it to close on the deal. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur said that he wouldn’t consider whether BCE-Mach broke its word until March 26.
