Acquisition of Idemitsu Petroleum UK Limited & Suspension of Trading
Thursday 19 October 2017
RockRose Energy PLC ("RockRose" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Idemitsu Petroleum UK Limited (''Idemitsu UK'') from Idemitsu Kosan Co, Ltd, a Japanese corporation (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition will be funded out of the existing facilities and cash resources of the Company. Completion of the Acquisition is conditional upon confirmation from the UK Oil and Gas Authority that there is no objection to change of control.
The Acquisition also brings with it a number of key employees and its premises in London, which will enhance RockRose's internal expertise providing continuity on the acquired assets and assisting with the management of the wider portfolio.
On closure of this Acquisition and previously announced transactions, RockRose will have a projected 6,200 - 7,000 boepd of production in 2018 on an aggregated basis.
Andrew Austin, Chairman of RockRose said:
"RockRose is continuing to deliver on its stated strategy of building a business through the acquisition of mature producing assets. We believe that this acquisition is a significant one for the Company and that this portfolio also has a lot of potential for extended field life and gives Rockrose access to significant tax losses."
"We continue to review further acquisition opportunities in North West Europe and, post completion of this along with the previously announced Maersk, Sojitz and Egerton transactions by the end of this year, will have established a material business in the North Sea, set to deliver value to our shareholders."
The Acquisition constitutes a reverse takeover for the purposes of the listing rules, the Company has requested that the UK Listing Authority to suspend the listing of the shares with immediate effect. The Company will proceed to prepare and publish a new prospectus in the coming weeks which will include a competent persons report on the assets of the Company as enlarged by the Acquisition.
Further details and updates on the Acquisition will be released in the near future.