Canadian Verenex sale to Libya is Approved
posted on
Dec 13, 2009 12:27AM
Engineering, procurement, construction & management of crude oil refineries.
(CP) – 1 day ago
CALGARY — The drawn-out takeover battle involving Verenex Energy Inc. (TSX:VNX) and authorities in Libya appeared to be nearing an end Friday with an announcement that Verenex shareholders have agreed to buyout terms by a subsidiary of the Libyan Investment Authority.
Exact financial details were not disclosed in a news release issued by the Calgary-based oil and gas company, but Verenex said that a previously announced cash price of $7.24 per share was "still within range."
Verenex has some 44.7 million shares and a price of $7.24 would value the company at just under $324 million.
Verenex said shareholders representing more than 99 per cent of the company's stock approved the deal at a meeting Friday. It must now be approved by Canadian regulators and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
"The final amount of the working capital component of the cash purchase consideration for each Verenex share is to be determined after final court approval is obtained and before closing," the company said.
"The previously announced cash purchase consideration of $7.24 per share (including the working capital component) is still within range," it added.
Calgary-based Verenex is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a resource base and exploration portfolio in the Ghadames Basin in Libya.
The Libyan Investment Authority is a sovereign wealth fund established in 2006 by the General People's Committee of Libya to manage Libya's surplus oil revenues.
Friday's news comes little over a month after the reinstatement in late October of Shukri Ghanem as head of Libya's National Oil Corp.
Ghanem, widely credited with opening up Libya's oil sector to international oil majors, had resigned weeks earlier in a move observers said reflected the unpredictable politics of the North African country.
Ghanem's resignation had come as Libya was reportedly dragging its heels on finalizing an expected purchase of Verenex.
Ghanem, who supported the deal, had said months earlier that NOC would exercise its right to block China's CNPC International Ltd. from buying Verenex.
But after months of delays and CNPC's withdrawal of its bid, Libya offered $314.1 million for the company, roughly $100 million less than the initial value of the deal.
Verenex shares were up five cents at $7.20 in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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