Sona to ink SEBG deal end-July
SONA Petroleum Bhd expects to sign the sale and purchase agreement to
acquire a 66.7 per cent stake in Salamander Energy (Bualuang) Ltd (SEBG)
for US$280 million (RM893 million) by the end of the month.
The acquisition will be a significant milestone for Sona as it takes its first step in becoming an independent upstream oil and gas (O&G) company.
Its vice-president for business development, Datuk Saw Choo Boon, said the company could not meet its June 26 target as it was still finalising details of the agreement with United Kingdom-listed Salamander Energy Plc.
“We are targeting to sign the agreement by the end of the month. We will then submit a proposal to the Securities Commission for approval. This is a good deal for Sona,” Saw told Business Times by telephone on Friday.
SEBG, a subsidiary of Salamander Energy, owns and operates the Bualuang oil field, which has five wells, in the Gulf of Thailand.
The acquisition of shares in SEBG will result in Sona, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), owning an effective working interest of 40 per cent in two O&G blocks close to the Bualuang field.
The blocks include an active oil field that has been in production since 2008.
This acquisition will generate positive cash flow for Sona and will allow the company to receive 40 per cent of the revenue.
For fiscal year 2013, Sona did not generate any revenue other than interest from fixed-deposit placements. Its pre-tax loss for the period was RM5.1 million.
SPACs are known as shell companies, as the entity has no business or asset during listing but uses proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) to acquire assets in areas specified in the prospectus.
Under SPAC rules, the company must place 90 per cent of its IPO proceeds in a trust for the purpose of acquiring an asset within the first three years of listing.
Sona, one of the three listed SPACs in Malaysia, raised RM550 million from an IPO in July last year.
The acquisition will be a significant milestone for Sona as it takes its first step in becoming an independent upstream oil and gas (O&G) company.
Its vice-president for business development, Datuk Saw Choo Boon, said the company could not meet its June 26 target as it was still finalising details of the agreement with United Kingdom-listed Salamander Energy Plc.
“We are targeting to sign the agreement by the end of the month. We will then submit a proposal to the Securities Commission for approval. This is a good deal for Sona,” Saw told Business Times by telephone on Friday.
SEBG, a subsidiary of Salamander Energy, owns and operates the Bualuang oil field, which has five wells, in the Gulf of Thailand.
The acquisition of shares in SEBG will result in Sona, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), owning an effective working interest of 40 per cent in two O&G blocks close to the Bualuang field.
The blocks include an active oil field that has been in production since 2008.
This acquisition will generate positive cash flow for Sona and will allow the company to receive 40 per cent of the revenue.
For fiscal year 2013, Sona did not generate any revenue other than interest from fixed-deposit placements. Its pre-tax loss for the period was RM5.1 million.
SPACs are known as shell companies, as the entity has no business or asset during listing but uses proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) to acquire assets in areas specified in the prospectus.
Under SPAC rules, the company must place 90 per cent of its IPO proceeds in a trust for the purpose of acquiring an asset within the first three years of listing.
Sona, one of the three listed SPACs in Malaysia, raised RM550 million from an IPO in July last year.
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