10th Aug 2015 07:38
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rockhopper Exploration PLC on Monday said it has struck a USD22.0 million deal to acquire Beach Energy Ltd, which owns non-operated assets in Egypt, and said the environmental impact assessment for the Ombrina Mare oil and gas project in Italy has been approved.
Rockhopper said it will pay USD22.0 million to acquire the entire issued share capital of Beach Energy, which owns a 22% interest in the Abu Sennan concession and a 25% stake in the El Qu'a Plain concession.
The consideration will be paid using USD11.5 million in cash and USD10.5 million in Rockhopper shares. It did not provide any details on the number of shares to be issued or the pricing, but said the pricing would be based on the volume-weighted average price of its shares in the 30 days prior to completion.
Rockhopper shares were down 1.2% to 60.25 pence on Monday morning.
"This transaction represents another significant milestone as we continue to build Rockhopper into a full cycle, exploration led, E&P company focused on our two core areas of the North Falkland Basin and the Greater Mediterranean and North Africa region," said Sam Moody, Rockhopper's chief executive.
"We expect this portfolio to be net cash flow positive immediately and upon completion of the transaction expect operating cash flows from Egypt and our existing Italian assets to cover group overheads going forward," Moody added.
The company also said the environmental impact assessment for the Ombrina Mare oil and gas project in Italy has been approved by the Italian Minister for the Environment and countersigned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
The decree is now set to be passed to the Ministry of Economic Development in order to complete the process for awarding the production concession for the project.
"We are delighted to report progress on the Ombrina Mare project. While additional approvals are still required before we move into the production concession, we consider this to be a significant milestone towards unlocking the project," said Moody.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Rockhopper