Britain's largest oil producer strikes £8.8bn takeover of German rival
Chris Price
Thu, 21 December 2023
Harbour Energy was already the largest oil producer in the North Sea
- ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images
The largest oil producer in the North Sea has reached an $11.2bn (£8.8bn) agreement to acquire a German rival in its latest moves to expand from its North Sea roots into a global oil and gas company.
Harbour Energy will buy the upstream assets of oil-and-gas producer Wintershall Dea from chemicals giant BASF and investor LetterOne, which was co-founded by sanctioned Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman.
The deal will see Harbour’s operations expand across Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Libya and Algeria, as well as the company’s carbon dioxide capture and storage licences in Europe.
BASF, a majority shareholder in Wintershall Dea, will own 46.5pc of Harbour and will be entitled to nominate two non-executive directors to the latter’s board, as part of the deal. However, it has said it wants to exit the oil and gas industry and so will be disposing of those holdings over coming years
Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook said: “Today’s announcement marks Harbour’s fourth major acquisition and the most transformational step yet in our journey to build a uniquely positioned, large-scale, geographically diverse independent oil and gas company.”
She said that adding Wintershall’s assets would increase the company’s production, “extend our reserves life, and enhance our margins and cash flow, all supporting enhanced shareholder returns over the longer run”.
Shares in Harbour Energy have surged by 17pc.
The largest oil producer in the North Sea has reached an $11.2bn (£8.8bn) agreement to acquire a German rival in its latest moves to expand from its North Sea roots into a global oil and gas company.
Harbour Energy will buy the upstream assets of oil-and-gas producer Wintershall Dea from chemicals giant BASF and investor LetterOne, which was co-founded by sanctioned Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman.
The deal will see Harbour’s operations expand across Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Libya and Algeria, as well as the company’s carbon dioxide capture and storage licences in Europe.
BASF, a majority shareholder in Wintershall Dea, will own 46.5pc of Harbour and will be entitled to nominate two non-executive directors to the latter’s board, as part of the deal. However, it has said it wants to exit the oil and gas industry and so will be disposing of those holdings over coming years
Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook said: “Today’s announcement marks Harbour’s fourth major acquisition and the most transformational step yet in our journey to build a uniquely positioned, large-scale, geographically diverse independent oil and gas company.”
She said that adding Wintershall’s assets would increase the company’s production, “extend our reserves life, and enhance our margins and cash flow, all supporting enhanced shareholder returns over the longer run”.
Shares in Harbour Energy have surged by 17pc.
No comments:
Post a Comment