Is he the kind of CEO that an investor should bet on? Companies with great leaders are usually good long-term bets and Sandridge shares are pretty beat down right now.

Winners tend to find ways to win - is Tom Ward one of those special talents and is SD a good long-term hold? I'm thinking about tucking some away.

He helped make Chesapeake successful as one of its founders and has developed Sandridge into a major player in the natural gas industry in a short time. I would bet on his company for a long term investment, especially since it focuses on natural gas. I am no investment expert though.

Bigray in Ok

Sandridge was primarily as a gas company. They have operated on a significant amount of debt and have designs on being a larger company. Their goal with the purchase this week of Arena was to enlarge their oil production presence because natural gas isn't expected to increase much in price anytime soon and oil is. The acreage that Arena owns is chiefly in areas where oil has been pumped for 75 years. New technologies are making it financially feasible to pump oil out of some areas that were once thought essentially dry. With the purchase, the risk is far less than looking for natural gas in unproven fields because it is known there is oil in the Permian Basin property. It looks to me like Sandridge actually stabilized their revenue stream and diversified their product mix with this purchase. Most analysts think it was an excellent move. The only one I saw that wasn't happy was a lawyer in CA who probably has no vested interest but is saying what he said in case some Arena shareholder(s) wants to file suit against the proposed merger, then they might come calling to him to represent.

As far as the price dropping, it is a result of the additional expense of buying Arena. Most merger proposals cause the buyer's price to drop but the expectation is that efficiencies and new revenues will improve after a year or so. The risk is not to overextend your cash flow.

As mug said, Sandridge just bought some major oil and is betting more of it's stock on oil prices right now since natural gas is so beat up. There was a good article on it a few days back in the Journal Record.

Thanks. Do any of you have insight as to how the McClendon/Ward dynamic worked at Chesapeake, their individual strongpoints, etc? I wonder if one more than the other was really the guy who made things happen.

Also, do you have a feel for how the Arena deal might play out? I don't know much about these sorts of things but I'm pretty sure the shareholders at Bronco Drilling shot down a buyout a couple years back.

It's always the best move to not invest in what you don't understand.

Nice response, Metro. Typical from you.

As mug said, Sandridge just bought some major oil and is betting more of it's stock on oil prices right now since natural gas is so beat up. There was a good article on it a few days back in the Journal Record.

I'm aware, thx. To take a page out of your book, I could post a link to the thread I started on the Arena aquisition. Further, if mug already mentioned it, and you have nothing to add, then why post anything?

I've read all the articles. What I'm looking for is insight from somebody who has been on the ground, in the industry, in this town. You can't get that from a press release.

I appreciate everyone's input on the subject so far, aside from yours.

Your taking it wayyyy to seriously wsucougz, especially since you followed your previous two posts with a hateful PM to me. Any prudent investor will tell you don't invest in something you don't fully understand. So are you saying you want insider information?

I'm aware, thx. To take a page out of your book, I could post a link to the thread I started on the Arena aquisition. Further, if mug already mentioned it, and you have nothing to add, then why post anything?

I've read all the articles. What I'm looking for is insight from somebody who has been on the ground, in the industry, in this town. You can't get that from a press release.

I appreciate everyone's input on the subject so far, aside from yours.

Geez, wsu, chill out. He added the bit about the Journal Record article that I wasn't aware of and didn't mention. Give us all a break on the p*ssing.

Your taking it wayyyy to seriously wsucougz, especially since you followed your previous two posts with a hateful PM to me. Any prudent investor will tell you don't invest in something you don't fully understand. So are you saying you want insider information?

There you are, at it again. Insider information? Please stick to Dave Ramsey.