Cairn and Vedanta Transaction Completed

RNS Number : 5883T

Cairn Energy PLC

08 December 2011

 



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                          8 December 2011

CAIRN ENERGY PLC ("Cairn")

Part sale of shareholding in Cairn India Limited ("Cairn India")

to Vedanta Resources plc ("Vedanta") (the "Transaction")

Cairn and Vedanta Transaction Completed

Cairn is pleased to announce that the Transaction has now completed. Net proceeds to Cairn from the sale of a 30 per cent shareholding in Cairn India were $4.1 billion in cash. In July 2011, Cairn completed the sale of a 10 per cent shareholding in Cairn India to Vedanta for net proceeds of approximately $1.4 billion in cash.
 
Following the Transaction, Cairn retains an approximate 22 per cent shareholding in Cairn India.

 
Cairn now proposes to return approximately $3.5 billion of the sale proceeds to shareholders. The return of cash is expected to be made in a manner that will provide shareholders with an element of choice as to when and in what form they receive the cash. A further announcement will be made in due course.

 
Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn Energy PLC said:

"I am delighted to announce completion of this transaction which represents a major milestone in Cairn's history.  It crystallises the very significant value creation that we have delivered from our Indian business and allows us to return around three and a half billion dollars to shareholders.

 
Our remaining 22% shareholding in Cairn India, retained cash and balance sheet strength provide financial flexibility and an excellent platform for future growth opportunities."

Enquiries to:

Analysts / Investors

Simon Thomson, Chief Executive

Mike Watts, Deputy Chief Executive

Jann Brown, Managing Director and CFO

David Nisbet, Corporate Affairs                                                                              Tel: [phone]

Media

Patrick Handley, David Litterick

Brunswick Group LLP                                                                                           Tel: [phone]

NOTES TO EDITORS

All references to the share capital of Cairn India in this announcement are calculated on a fully diluted basis.

Cairn Energy PLC

Ø Cairn Energy PLC ("Cairn") is an Edinburgh-based oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Following the IPO of Cairn India in January 2007, there are two separate arms to the business:

o  Cairn India limited ("Cairn India") is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and has interests in a total of 11 acreage blocks in India and Sri Lanka. Cairn currently retains approximately 22% interest in Cairn India (on an un-diluted basis).

o  Capricorn Oil Limited ("Capricorn"), a 100% subsidiary of Cairn, is focused on exploration. Capricorn has assets in Nepal, Northern India, Greenland, Albania and Spain.

Ø "Cairn" where referred to in this release means Cairn Energy PLC and/or its subsidiaries (including Cairn India and Capricorn), as appropriate.

Ø "Cairn India" where referred to in the release means Cairn India Limited and/or its subsidiaries, as appropriate.

Ø Cairn has focused its activities on the geographic region of South Asia, which has already resulted in a significant number of oil and gas discoveries.  In particular, Cairn made a major oil discovery (Mangala) in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 2004. Cairn has now made more than 20 discoveries in Rajasthan block RJ-ON-90/1. Production from Rajasthan started in August 2009 and is expected to reach the approved plateau of 175,000 bopd.

Ø Cairn India is headquartered in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi, with operational offices in Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Ø Cairn Energy PLC (including Capricorn) is run from Edinburgh with operational offices in Kathmandu, Nuuk and Spain.

Cairn in Greenland

Ø Cairn through its subsidiary, Capricorn, operates 11 blocks offshore Greenland.

Ø Cairn has drilled five wells offshore Greenland in 2011.  Two state-of-the-art rigs were used for the drilling and exploration programme - the Ocean Rig Corcovado, a sixth generation drill-ship, and the Leiv Eiriksson, a fifth generation semi-submersible.

Ø Up to fourteen vessels supported the drilling programme.  They provided cover for emergency response, rig stand-by, ice management, anchor handling, oil spill response and re-supply operations.

Ø Cairn carried out extensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessments to identify how potential environmental and social impacts of the drilling programme can be avoided or mitigated.

Ø A total of 14 exploration wells have been drilled offshore Greenland to date, five of which were drilled in the 1970s, one in 2000, three in 2010 by Cairn Energy and five by Cairn Energy in 2011.

For further information on Cairn please see: www.cairnenergy.com

 

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