Completion of Major Acquisition Offshore Holland
Tuesday 14 November 2017
Hague and London Oil PLC is pleased to announce that, following the overwhelming shareholder approval of the acquisition of Tullow 101 Netherlands B.V. received at the General Meeting on 1 November 2017, the transaction has now successfully completed. As a result, the ownership of interests in a portfolio of offshore exploration and production licenses in the Dutch North Sea has now been transferred to HALO following the payment of the initial consideration to the seller, as detailed in the Circular published on 16 October 2017.
The structured finance and off-take (i.e. "pre-pay") facility provided by ENGIE has been established, for a total of €10.0 million of which €6.0 million has been drawn down to fund the initial consideration plus associated costs. The remainder of this initial €6.0 million will be used for working capital and to provide funds for future development capital, new ventures, or acquisitions exceeding net operating cash flows generated from the Netherlands Assets.
Additionally, there remains a €4.0 million undrawn tranche of the ENGIE facility, which HALO can utilise in part, or whole, for additional capital needs in 2018. It is also possible to expand the ENGIE facility in the future to finance any similar acquisitions that the Company may pursue.
HALO is now a producer of more than 2,500 boepd, having 2P reserves in excess of 12 mmboe, more than 19 mmboe in contingent resource and interests in 17 different licenses offshore Netherlands as well as associated pipelines and infrastructure.
Andrew Cochran, HALO's Chairman and Interim CEO, commented:
"The completion of this transaction marks a momentous event in HALO's corporate development. This transformational acquisition wouldn't have been possible in the current environment without ENGIE's support, as established in the MoU signed in August 2016. We are proud to have demonstrated our ability to cultivate strong industry relationships with larger, supportive entities and to deliver complex transactions; all the while protecting and growing shareholder value. As we start the process of integrating these assets into the Company, we plan to continue with the same discipline we have operated previously and look forward to continued, accretive and material growth for HALO."
Mircea Caratas, Chief Commercial Trading Officer, ENGIE Global Energy Management Business Unit*, said:
"ENGIE is extremely pleased to be able to support HALO in the acquisition of these producing gas assets. The team at HALO has great vision and determination and we look forward to deepening our mutual relationship as they look for further expansion opportunities. ENGIE has provided HALO with a 'tailor-made' solution for their acquisition, in line with our own strategy to build out a strong midstream and trading position in Europe and the North Sea through innovative structured physical solutions for upstream players."
* the ENGIE Business Unit that manages the Group's activities on energy markets