27th Oct 2014 10:57
LONDON (Alliance News) - Maple Energy PLC Monday said it has rejected a USD47.4 million offer for a "substantial part" of its equity stake in its principal trading subsidiaries to Graña y Montero SAA and Alcogroup SA in return for investment at subsidiary level.
The proposed deal would have seen the investors pay an initial USD4.0 million to acquire 40% of The Maple Companies Ltd, the subsidiary which holds the company's ethanol production and hydrocarbons operations. Maple Energy has a 95.4% interest in The Maple Companies.
The investors would have committed to make a further USD13 million equity investment in The Maple Companies, according to a statement from Maple Energy earlier this month, as part of a capital increase that would have diluted Maple Energy's shareholding in The Maple Companies.
Graña y Montero Petrolera SA, a subsidiary of Graña y Montero SAA, were to pay USD31 million to acquire Maple Gas Corp del Peru SRL, which is a subsidiary of The Maple Companies dedicated to hydrocarbon production, refining and marketing operations.
Maple Energy has rejected the offer as investors did not provide evidence of having sufficient funds to finance the offer in a timely manner, it said in a statement Monday. The senior lenders of Maple Energy's ethanol business also found the offer unsatisfactory, it added.
Maple Energy also said that an announcement regarding the offer made by Maple Resource Corp breached agreements about confidentiality, where Maple Resources was prohibited from disclosing any information to third parties without prior written consent from Maple Energy. It said Maple Resources had released a statement about the offer on October 22.
Maple Energy shares were trading at 6.25 pence per share Monday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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