Plunging Gas Prices Could Kill Off $40 Billion In Deals

Last year, mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. oil and gas industry declined to the lowest level since 2005, with 160 deals completed despite booming oil and gas prices. Yet most of these deals were for top-quality assets at top prices. The industry was doing well and could afford billion-dollar mergers. Now, things are changing. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. oil and gas space had dropped off a cliff as natural gas prices plummeted. The predominantly warm winter and…