British oil and gas producer Energean announced in a press release that it has sold its assets in Egypt, Italy and Croatia for around $945 Mln to focus on its strategic projects in Morocco.
The deal with private equity firm Carlyle CG.O includes a 504-million-dollar initial cash payment, allowing Energean, a London Stock Market-listed company, to issue a 200-million-dollar special dividend and fully redeem a 450-million-dollar corporate bond.
Following the news, Energean’s stock rallied by more than 3%.
Alex Smith, an analyst at Investec, stated that the sale would allow Energean to consolidate its portfolio and focus on natural gas development, including in the Karish field in Israel and the recently purchased Anchois field in Morocco.
Energean’s CEO Mathios Rigas told Reuters that “”It’s a great deal for us, we’re selling assets at three times the price we bought them.”
Analysts at Jefferies evaluated the net worth of the sold assets at $1.28 billion, suggesting a 26% discount on the deal.
The Energean Board of Directors plans to rethink its dividend policy after the deal is completed, which is likely by the end of the year. In 2023, Energean produced 123,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOED). Egypt’s output is expected to rise from 25,000 to 29,000-31,000 boeds in 2024.
Energean had previously acquired its assets in Egypt, Italy, and Croatia by purchasing Edison’s oil and gas portfolio in 2020. According to CIEP, this transaction will create a company producing 47,000 barrels per day, including interests in Cassiopea, Italy’s largest gas field in terms of reserves, and Abu Qir, one of Egypt’s main gas production centers.