Acquisition & Placing

Regal Petroleum PLC 26 September 2003 For Immediate Release Friday, 26 September 2003 REGAL PETROLEUM PLC Proposed acquisition of up to 89.92 per cent. of the issued share capital of Eurotech Services S.A. ('Eurotech') Placing of 35,086,667 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 75p per share Regal Petroleum plc ('Regal' or 'the Company'), the London based independent oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to announce the following (which should be read in conjunction with the circular to Shareholders to be posted later today): Agreed terms on the acquisition of 89.92% of Eurotech Following the announcement on 27 June 2003 that Regal had signed heads of agreement to acquire 90 per cent. of the entire issued share capital of Eurotech, Regal today announces that, following the completion of satisfactory due diligence, it has agreed terms to acquire up to 89.92 per cent. of the issued share capital of Eurotech for a consideration to be satisfied by the issue of up to 5,000,000 new Ordinary Shares. It is expected that the Acquisition Agreement will be entered into, and the Acquisition will be completed, shortly after the EGM. Eurotech is a private company incorporated in Greece, which owns, inter alia, 67 per cent. of the entire issued share capital of Kavala. Kavala, which is also a private company incorporated in Greece, has, pursuant to a State Agreement, exclusive rights to develop, exploit and operate oil fields in the North Aegean Sea. Following completion of the Acquisition, Regal will indirectly own 60.2 per cent. of the entire issued share capital of Kavala. Proposed Fund raising of £24.15 million (net of expenses) Regal also announces today that it proposes to raise approximately £24.15 million (net of expenses) by way of a placing of 35,086,667 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 75p per share. The Placing is conditional, inter alia, upon the Company obtaining approval from its Shareholders to increase its authorised share capital, to disapply statutory pre-emption rights and to grant the Board authority to allot the New Ordinary Shares. The Placing, which has been arranged by Evolution Beeson Gregory Limited ('EVBG') pursuant to the terms of the Placing Agreement, is also conditional upon Admission and has been fully underwritten by EVBG. The Placing proceeds will be used to fund the working capital requirements of the Enlarged Group. Extraordinary General Meeting ('EGM') An EGM will be held on 20 October 2003 at the offices of EVBG, 100 Wood Street, London EC2V 7AN, at 10.00 a.m., at which the Resolutions will be proposed for the purposes of implementing the Placing and the Acquisition. Commenting on the Acquisition and Placing, Frank Timis, Executive Chairman, said: 'The acquisition of a producing oil and gas asset in Greece with potential for considerably higher levels of production together with the raising of funds for the further development of our existing oil and gas assets, will assist Regal in becoming a significant exploration and production oil and gas company.' For further information please contact: Regal Tel: 020 7647 6622 Frank Timis, Executive Chairman Glenn Featherby, Finance Director Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000 Bobby Morse / Catherine Miles All defined terms contained within this announcement have the same meaning as set out in the circular to Shareholders to be posted later today. Attached: Background to and reasons for the Acquisition Proposed terms of the Acquisition Issue of Ordinary Shares to Guenter Nolte Proposed Director Current trading and prospects The Placing Use of Proceeds Recommendation Background to and reasons for the Acquisition General Regal's strategy is to become an owner and operator of international oil and gas assets and the acquisition of Kavala represents the next stage in this strategy. To date, all development expenditure in Kavala has been funded internally and no additional development financing has been available under its current ownership structure. The Directors believe that the proceeds of the Placing, through the Facility Agreement, will allow for the further development of Kavala's oil fields and result in increased production levels. The Placing will also provide funds for the exploration programme in the Kallirachi prospect. Further details of the Company's production and exploration plans for Kavala are set out below. Information on Eurotech Eurotech, a private company incorporated in Greece, is a provider of engineering services, equipment and personnel. Eurotech has approximately 29 employees of which 12 are currently supplying consultancy services to Kavala. The annual turnover for Eurotech for 2002 was €643,000 (2001: €1,004,000). Eurotech's assets also include a 67 per cent. interest in the entire issued share capital of Kavala. The issued share capital of Eurotech is held by Nikolaos Loutsigkas (60.0 per cent.), Theodoros Sidiropoulos (26.1 per cent.) and on behalf of the beneficiaries of a deceased estate (13.9 per cent.). Following completion of the Acquisition, Eurotech will transfer all of its assets (apart from its Kavala shareholding), liabilities and business to a newly established company incorporated by the Managers in accordance with the terms of the Restructuring Plan. The Managers have agreed to indemnify the Company against any claims, liabilities or losses it may suffer in connection with this restructuring of Eurotech. Information on Kavala General Kavala exclusively operates oil, gas and sulphur production facilities (including an onshore processing plant) in the North Aegean Sea pursuant to the State Agreement. The issued share capital of Kavala is held by Eurotech (67 per cent.) and on behalf of an association of Kavala's employees (33 per cent.). State Agreement Kavala has entered into a concession agreement with the Greek State and Kavala's shareholders pursuant to which Kavala has been granted an exclusive right to undertake petroleum exploration, exploitation and production operations in the area of the Thracian Sea. Under the terms of the State Agreement, Kavala has the right to exploit two existing drilling operations in the Prinos and South Kavala fields until November 2009 and may also be granted further rights to explore and exploit new deposits for periods of up to 10 years from the relevant date of grant. Under the terms of the State Agreement, the Greek State currently receives a fee equivalent to 5 per cent. of the annual gross income of Kavala. The State Agreement may be terminated by the Greek State in the event that, inter alia, Kavala is in material breach of its obligations under the State Agreement. Production Kavala currently produces approximately 4,000 barrels of stabilised crude oil each day from two sour crude oil reservoirs, Prinos and Prinos North. The Directors believe that following work-over and infill drilling programmes, production will increase. The oil extracted from Kavala's fields, 'sour crude' oil, has a high concentration of Hydrogen Sulphide ('H2S') in the associated gas. The onshore processing plant removes the H2S to ensure that the final product conforms to international standards. The oil is sold to Hellenic Petroleum S.A. in accordance with the State Agreement and the sulphur by-product is sold locally. The Prinos and Prinos North fields together have approximately 11 million barrels of proven and probable reserves which, at current levels of production, equates to approximately 6 years of production remaining. In addition, the smaller South Kavala gas field, produces sweet gas, a gas which does not contain H2S, and which is used for generating power for certain parts of the Kavala oil fields. Current production is approximately 60,000m3/day. Development Under the State Agreement, Kavala also has the exclusive right to exploit and develop the Epsilon field which lies to the west of the Prinos field. The Epsilon field has approximately 12 million barrels of proven and probable reserves. Kavala intends to drill production wells and build associated production infrastructure during 2004. Exploration Pursuant to the State Agreement, Kavala has an exclusive right to explore the Kallirachi prospect which is located north of the South Kavala field. Based on seismic data, this prospect is expected to contain between 96 and 227 million barrels of recoverable oil. In the first instance, the Company plans to commence the drilling of an exploration well in Kallirachi in 2003 to convert the resource to a proven and probable reserve. Trading Record A summary of Kavala's trading record over the three years ended 31 December 2002 is set out below: 2002 2001 2000 Oil Production volumes (bbls) 1,392,327 1,410,965 2,034,047 Sales €33,795,000 €32,938,000 €54,648,000 Profit/(loss) after extraordinary items before tax (€8,486,000) €42,000 €25,602,000 Adjusted Profit* €7,995,000 €8,359,000 €21,292,000 *Adjusted to align with the Company's accounting policies Further Information Vasile Frank Timis has a 30 per cent. interest in European Hydrocarbons Limited ('EHL'), a privately owned company. EHL has signed heads of agreement with Denison Energy Inc. ('Denison') which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, giving EHL an option to acquire Denison's 75 per cent. interest in an exploration area near Kavala, west of the Island of Thassos. Proposed terms of the Acquisition The Acquisition The Company has agreed terms with the Vendors to acquire up to 89.92 per cent. of the entire issued share capital of Eurotech in consideration for the issue of the Consideration Shares in accordance with the terms of the Acquisition Agreement. The balance of the issued share capital of Eurotech will be held by Nikolaos Loutsigkas, the president and managing director of Kavala. Based on the closing middle market price of 84p of an Existing Share on 25 September 2003 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this announcement), the aggregate value of the Consideration Shares is £4,200,000. The Company and the Vendors have agreed the terms of the Acquisition and the Board expects that the Acquisition Agreement will be entered into and the Acquisition completed shortly after the EGM. The Company has, however, entered into a further agreement with the Vendors in respect of the Acquisition pursuant to which the Vendors are liable to pay the Company the sum of €1 million if the Vendors fail to enter into the Acquisition Agreement upon the satisfaction of certain conditions. Upon completion of the Acquisition Nikolaos Loutsigkas has agreed to join the Board of the Company and Glenn Featherby and Guenter Nolte will join the board of Kavala. Nikolaos Loutsigkas and Theodoros Sidiropoulos, a Vendor and a director of Kavala, will enter into new service agreements with Kavala. The Company has also agreed to pay the Managers a royalty fee equal to 3 per cent. of any dividend payable by Kavala to Eurotech on an annual basis. As part of the terms of the Acquisition, the Company will also provide Kavala with a US$30,000,000 revolving credit facility to fund its operations on the terms of the Facility Agreement which will be entered into on completion of the Acquisition. Hellenic Competition Commission Approval The Company has been advised that the Acquisition requires the prior approval of the Hellenic Competition Commission ('HCC'). Accordingly, the Company intends to notify the HCC of the Acquisition as soon as practicable and to use all reasonable endeavours to obtain the HCC approval prior to the EGM. The Directors believe that this approval is likely to be given as Regal currently has no interests in the Greek petroleum markets and there is therefore no concentration of interests as a result of the Acquisition. The Directors consider that because the likelihood of not getting approval is very low, it is in the best interests of Regal and its Shareholders to proceed with the Acquisition on the intended date of completion, even if this approval has not been received by that date. The Directors have been advised that such a course of action may result in the HCC imposing a fine on the Company. They have been further advised that, based on previous HCC practice, the level of the fine is not likely to be material, probably not more than 1 per cent. of the aggregate turnover of Eurotech and Kavala, which based on the latest published accounts, would result in a fine of up to €344,380. However, under Greek competition law the HCC has the right to impose a fine of up to 15 per cent. of the combined turnover (€5,165,700). Issue of Ordinary Shares to Guenter Nolte ('GN Shares') At the time of Guenter Nolte's appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, on 1 March 2003, the Company agreed to pay Mr Nolte an introduction fee of £750,000, in consideration for his introduction of the Acquisition to the Company. In addition, the Company shall pay any tax the Company is required to pay in connection with this fee, which the Directors estimate to be approximately £100,000. This payment is conditional upon the completion of the Acquisition and the Resolutions being passed at the EGM. Mr Nolte has agreed to apply this fee to subscribe for 1 million new Ordinary Shares at the Placing Price. As at the date of this announcement Mr Nolte is interested in 34,800 Existing Shares representing 0.06 per cent. of the Company's existing issued Ordinary Share capital. Proposed Director Following completion of the Acquisition, Nikolaos Loutsigkas will join the Board with primary responsibility for Kavala and the Company's interests in Greece. Nikolaos Loutsigkas is currently a 60.0 per cent. shareholder in Eurotech and therefore, under the terms of the Acquisition Agreement he will be allotted 2,775,812 Consideration Shares representing 2.82 per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital following the issue of New Ordinary Shares. In the event that the Company exercises its option, Nikolaos Loutsigkas will be allotted an aggregate of 3,336,283 Consideration Shares representing 3.39 per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares (assuming the allotment of all the Consideration Shares). Nikolaos Loutsigkas, aged 55, is a qualified energy engineer and a qualified electrical and economic engineer. He is a founder of Eurotech where he has been Managing Director since 1992. Prior to 1992 Mr Loutsigkas worked for 14 years with North Aegean Petroleum Corporation as an electrical and instrumentation engineer. Mr Loutsigkas is the President and Managing Director of Kavala. The directorships and partnerships held by Nikolaos Loutsigkas in the last 5 years are set out below: Current directorships and partnerships Previous directorships and partnerships Eurotech Services SA - Kavala Oil SA - Enertek SA - There are no other disclosures to be made in respect of the appointment of Mr Loutsigkas under paragraph 15 of the AIM rules. Current trading and prospects Regal On 3 September 2003, the Company announced a trading update and its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2003. In Ukraine, the Company is currently producing approximately 200,000 cubic metres of gas per day from two wells. The Directors expect that two work-over wells and the two new development wells will be completed by the end of 2003 and accordingly there will be six wells in production producing 800,000 cubic metres of gas per day by the end of 2003. In Romania, the Company has identified two large structures from existing seismic data and additional seismic investigations will be undertaken to further delineate these structures. Since 3 September 2003 there has been no material change to the Company's trading. Kavala Kavala is currently producing approximately 4,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Further details regarding Kavala's current production and historic trading record is set out above. The Placing The Company proposes to raise approximately £24.15 million (net of expenses) through the issue of the Placing Shares at the Placing Price, which represents a discount of 10.71 per cent. to the closing middle market price of 84p per Existing Share on 25 September 2003, being the last practicable date prior to the publication of this announcement. The Placing Shares will represent 35.60 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital immediately following Admission assuming the allotment of all of the Consideration Shares. The Placing Agreement Pursuant to the terms of the Placing Agreement, EVBG has conditionally agreed to use its reasonable endeavours to place the Placing Shares with certain institutional and other investors. The Placing has been fully underwritten by EVBG. The Placing Agreement is conditional upon, inter alia, the Resolutions being duly passed at the EGM, the Acquisition Agreement being entered into and completed and Admission becoming effective on or before 8.00 a.m. on 27 October 2003 (or such later date as the Company and EVBG may agree, but in any event by no later than 30 November 2003). The Placing Agreement contains warranties by the Company in favour of EVBG in relation to, inter alia, the accuracy of the information in this announcement and other matters relating to the Enlarged Group and its business. In addition, the Company has agreed to indemnify EVBG in respect of certain liabilities it may incur in respect of the Placing. EVBG has the right to terminate the Placing Agreement in certain circumstances prior to Admission, in particular, in the event of a material breach of the warranties. Under the Placing Agreement and subject to it becoming unconditional in all respects and not being terminated in accordance with its terms, the Company has agreed to pay EVBG a commission of 5.0 per cent. on the value at the Placing Price of the Placing Shares, together with any applicable value added tax. Settlement and dealings Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares, the Consideration Shares and the GN Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that such Admission will occur on 27 October 2003. The New Ordinary Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the Existing Shares including the right to receive dividends and other distributions declared following Admission. Use of Proceeds The net proceeds of the Placing of £24.15 million will be used to develop Regal's existing assets and the newly acquired assets. The Directors estimate these costs will be apportioned as follows: (i) £2.4 million to build a new manifold/pipeline in 2003 and second gas processing plant in Ukraine in 2004; (ii) £0.9 million to build a high capacity pipeline connecting the existing infrastructure to the Ukraine distribution network, to be completed by the end of 2003; (iii) £2.4 million to develop the Romanian gas field; (iv) £13.15 million to drill and develop new and existing wells in the Kavala oil fields; and (v) £5.3 million to drill an exploration well in the Kallirachi oil prospect. Work carried out in Kavala will be funded in accordance with the Facility Agreement. Recommendation The Directors consider the Placing and the Acquisition to be in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole and accordingly unanimously recommend Shareholders to vote in favour of the Resolutions to be proposed at the EGM as they have irrevocably undertaken to do so in respect of their beneficial holdings amounting, in aggregate, to 10,889,687 Existing Shares, representing approximately 18.95 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of the Company. - Ends - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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