Firms Locked in Anadarko M&A Battle Open Joint Daycare Facility in Texas

(Bloomberg) -- Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Corp. may be locked in a takeout battle for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., but children of employees at all three drillers can now sip juice boxes side by side and play on the same jungle gym.

Along with EOG Resources Inc., Occidental, Chevron and Anadarko have teamed up to bring a new childcare facility to the heart of West Texas’ Permian Basin, where a massive influx of oil workers has made finding daytime care for children almost impossible. Primrose School of Midland at Westridge opened its doors last week, according to a statement Wednesday, serving infants to five-year-olds, with an after-school program for elementary school-aged kids.

Occidental went public Wednesday with its $76 per share offer for Anadarko, a premium of about 20 percent over Chevron’s April 12 agreement to buy The Woodlands, Texas-based company. That could make drop-off awkward.

The new center will help companies attract and retain workers in the shale patch, Chad McAllaster, an Anadarko vice president, said in a statement. “We want top-notch talent to see Midland as a career destination, and by providing premier early education and care, we reinforce that commitment by helping to deliver an exceptional quality of life for employees and their families.”

It’s not the first time oil companies have joined forces to bring daycare to the oilfield. Apache Corp. is also partnered with Primrose Schools, and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Concho Resources Inc. have their own partnerships with Bright Horizons for childcare centers that exclusively serve their employees.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Adams-Heard in Houston at radamsheard@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Christine Buurma, Joe Carroll

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