NZOG receives improved takeover offer

New Zealand Oil & Gas has received an improved partial takeover offer from O.G. Oil & Gas (Singapore) Pte. Ltd for the acquisition of 67.55% of each class of the shares in NZOG it does not already hold or control.

The initial offer made by OGOG for the acquisition of shares was made for a price of NZ$0.77 per share on September 19.

According to a statement by NZOG, the improved offer made by OGOG has a 1 cent per share increase over OGOG’s originally announced proposal.

NZOG added that it was unanimously recommending that shareholders accept OGOG’s offer.

If the offer is accepted by shareholders, OGOG will acquire up to 67.55% of NZOG shares for a price of NZ$0.78 per share.

New Zealand Oil & Gas said it would send the offer document, including personalized acceptance forms, as well as a target company statement to shareholders no later than Monday, 16 October 2017.

In its statement presenting a rationale behind the takeover offer, O.G. Oil & Gas has said that its opinion of the NZOG situation was starkly different from the one from Zeta.

The Singapore based offeror said: “Zeta’s recent offer seeks to increase its stake to approximately 53%. Zeta’s view is that NZOG is “essentially a cashbox” that is at a “strategic crossroad.”

“Zeta intends, amongst other things, to pursue the return of NZ$50,000,000 of capital to shareholders and to drive down what it characterizes as excessive and duplicative overheads. We fear this means significant reductions to NZOG’s management team and future capabilities.”

“We see the situation differently. In our view, NZOG is in an enviable position, with the right leadership and sufficient capital to take advantage of this attractive point in the exploration and development cycle.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff