Natural gas is cleaner burning than coal or oil, and environmentally conscious users like that fact. It a big part of why the United States exports an increasing amount of this type of fuel. Transporting it requires it to be cooled and liquified, to create liquified natural gas (LNG). This is where Tellurian (TELL +0.00%) comes into the story, since it is building an LNG export terminal in Louisiana.
There's a unique twist regarding Tellurian that might be of interest to the more aggressive investors out there.
Tellurian says it's willing to sell
Investors shouldn't buy a stock just because the company might be bought out. Which is why you should take comments by Martin Houston, Tellurian's executive chairman, with a grain of salt. But they still set up an important foundation for the bigger story.
According to Houston: "We announced that we had broadened the scope of our financial advisor, Lazard. This was correctly interpreted as indicating that the sale of the company could be an option."
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Essentially, Tellurian is openly admitting that it might be up for sale. To be fair, Houston goes on to explain that a sale is just one option on the table.
So investors shouldn't go in thinking that a sale of the company is a done deal or that it is somehow a necessity. But the reason why another company might be interested in buying Tellurian is pretty interesting.
In the same shareholder letter that contained the sale commentary, Houston also noted that Tellurian is "... not directly impacted by the [Department of Energy's] 'pause.' " That comment is related to the federal agency's decision to stop providing permits for new LNG facilities. And that sets up an odd dynamic for Tellurian and investors.
Tellurian isn't there yet, but it is well-positioned
The hard truth is that Tellurian is still in the construction phase with its Driftwood project. So there's a huge amount of execution risk here, and conservative investors probably won't be all that interested in the stock. It's most appropriate for aggressive types.
To sum it up, LNG demand is fairly strong globally as the world tries to shift away from coal and oil. The U.S. produces a lot of natural gas and can help supply the world with the LNG it desires. Notably, North American midstream company Enbridge (ENB +0.02%) is building an LNG export terminal on the West Coast to satisfy that same demand. However, the U.S. Department of Energy has paused the process for approving new LNG facilities.
NYSEMKT: TELL
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That means no new ones are going to be built until the pause is ended. And even then, the outcome isn't exactly clear. It is possible that the pause becomes a more permanent issue or, perhaps more likely, that the hurdles for new projects get higher.
Tellurian's LNG terminal is, according to the company, "fully permitted." In other words, it can build and operate without having to worry about the pause. The pause, meanwhile, increases the potential value of Tellurian's project. If you want to own an LNG export asset, buying the company could be a good way to do it.
That's true as an individual investor and from a corporate standpoint, which is why the company is willing to entertain acquisition offers. It's likely that Tellurian's board would demand a notable premium if it agreed to sell the company.
Buy it for the LNG, not a potential takeover
So, for more aggressive investors, the story could be fairly attractive. You are buying a company that is building what is currently a unique LNG asset. Global demand will likely lead to solid cash flows once it is built.
If you believe in the future of LNG, Tellurian could be worth owning. Potential investors get something like a call option here because the Energy Department's "pause" might actually increase the value of Tellurian's project to the point that the company happily sells out for a great price. You shouldn't buy it for that reason, but it is hard to ignore that possibility within what is already an interesting, though high-risk, investment story.
