UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Access Midstream Partners LP

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating on Access Midstream Partners LP ACMP, and raised its price target from $34.00 to $38.00. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “Tuesday after market close, ACMP announced it agreed to acquire remaining midstream assets from its former general partner (GP), Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK, for $2.16bn. The acquisition is expected to close by year-end. In addition, it was announced that Williams WMB will acquire a 50% GP and 23% LP interest in ACMP from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which owns the remaining interest in ACMP's GP and a substantial LP interest as well. The Chesapeake Midstream Development (CMD) assets consist of fee-based gas gathering and processing (G&P) assets in the Eagle Ford, Utica, Niobrara, and Haynesville shales. ACMP also extended its exclusive negotiation period with CHK for the pending acquisition of certain Mid-Continent midstream assets to 1 March 2013. We are raising estimates to incorporate the CMD acquisition.” Access Midstream Partners LP closed on Tuesday at $34.03.