CAMAC Energy, which explores for oil and gas in Nigeria, Kenya and Gambia, said it had closed the acquisition of the remaining economic interests that it did not already own in the production sharing contract covering Oil Mining Leases (OML) 120 and 121offshore Nigeria, which include the currently producing Oyo field, from Allied Energy.
According to a statement posted Monday on its website, to fund the cash portion of the consideration for the transaction with Allied and a portion of anticipated capital expenditures for development of the Oyo field, the company has also closed the first $135 million of a total $270 million equity investment from the Public Investment Corporation (SOC) Limited (PIC) of South Africa.
The statement said company begins trading on Monday on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), in connection with the investment by the PIC, and in addition to its current listing on the New York Stock Exchange’s NYSE MKT.
Kase Lawal, chairman and chief executive officer, CAMAC, said: “We are pleased to announce the closing of these transformational events for our company. We are especially honoured that the PIC has invested in our growth plans with confidence and we welcome them on board as a significant strategic partner on our exciting journey ahead.”
“With 100 percent interest in all of our assets in Nigeria, Kenya, and Gambia, we can now focus on our drilling programme to increase current production and reserves,” he added.
According to the statement, the previously announced stock dividend equal to 1.4348 shares per share outstanding has been paid as of February 21, 2014. It added that following the closing of the Allied acquisition, the first $135 million PIC investment, and the stock dividend, the current total number of outstanding common shares is 1,072,892,046.
Zeona Jacobs, director of issuer and investor relations of the JSE, said: “We are pleased to see CAMAC Energy list on our main board today. The listing in Johannesburg gives CAMAC Energy a presence on Africa’s biggest bourse and access to a large and diverse investor base with an array of investors looking to gain exposure to the African continent.”
Sasfin Capital acted as corporate adviser and sponsor in connection with the company’s secondary listing on the JSE. Sidley Austin LLP acted as U.S. legal counsel to the company and ENSafrica acted as South African legal counsel to the company, the statement said.
Vinson & Elkins LLP acted as U.S. legal counsel to Allied. Canaccord Genuity Limited acted as financial advisor and Andrews Kurth LLP acted as legal counsel to the special committee of the company’s board of directors that considered the transactions with Allied and PIC.
CAMAC Energy now has operatorship and a 100 percent interest in 8 production and exploration licenses in 3 countries, including the OMLs, Blocks L1B and L16 onshore Kenya, Blocks L27 and L28 offshore Kenya, and Blocks A2 and A5 offshore Gambia. Current net daily production is about 2,000 barrels of oil, and 40 million cubic feet of natural gas.
By: FEMI ASU
