AWE tells shareholders to accept Mitsui takeover offer

Australia’s oil and gas producer AWE has urged its shareholders to accept the takeover bid from Japan’s Mitsui.

The Japanese company earlier in February offered to take over AWE for $0.95 per share, an increase compared to the previous bids by MinRES and CERCG. CERCG’s bid currently stands at $0.73 per share, and the AWE directors have advised the shareholders against taking the bid.

In AWE’s Target statement on Wednesday, the AWE Board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the Mitsui Offer, in the absence of a superior proposal.

Mitsui’s Offer is subject to a 50.1% minimum acceptance condition, and other conditions.

Providing the rationale for the recommendation in favor of Mitsui, AWE said Mitsui’s Offer Price “Mitsui’s Offer Price represents a compelling premium to AWE historical trading values, average broker price targets for AWE and CERCG’s Offer.”

Furthermore, the AWE board stressed the fact that “Mitsui’s Offer is an all-cash offer and provides certainty of value.“

Mitsui has said that in case it acquires at least 75%, but less than 90%, of AWE’s Shares, it intends to cause AWE to apply to the ASX to delist. If it 90% or more of

AWE’s Shares it intends to remove AWE from the official list of the ASX and obtain the remaining Shares through compulsory acquisition procedures.

Mitsui’s Offer is currently scheduled to close at 7pm (Sydney time) on 23 March 2018, unless withdrawn or extended.

Focus on Waitsia

 

The target company, AWE, is an independent Australian energy company with a portfolio of production, development and exploration offshore and onshore oil and gas assets in Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.

AWE’s principal assets comprise: Waitsia Gas Project, various mature onshore gas fields and production facilities in the Perth Basin, Western Australia, including Beharra Springs; BassGas Project; Casino Gas Project; and • Ande Ande Lumut Oil Project.

It’s fair to say that the bidding companies are looking to take over AWE because of its Waitsia gas project.

AWE discovered the Waitsia field in September 2014. Further drilling and testing through to late 2017 culminated in AWE increasing its estimates of 2P Reserves for the field to 820 PJ (100% basis, 410 PJ AWE share) in December 20176 , and the Waitsia field now ranks in the top five largest onshore gas discoveries in Australia.

Waitsia is located in an established gas producing region of Western Australia, close to existing gas transportation and storage infrastructure and the Perth metropolitan demand center.

Offshore Energy Today Staff