Ithaca offering to raise $75 million

Ithaca Energy looks set to raised $75 m to help finance its purchase of the Beatrice oil field from Talisman Energy and the Stella licence acquisition in the UK North Sea.

Ithaca said its new equity financing will be based on the issue of 50 million new common shares priced at US $1.50 per share to raise $75 m with the offering due to close on 11 August.

“The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund ongoing Jacky and Athena project development, the completion of the Beatrice and Stella acquisitions and for general working capital purposes,” Ithaca indicated.

“It is anticipated that this financing, combined with the recently announced $240m bank financing, will be sufficient to fund the company through to first production from its Jacky project at the end of this year as well as from its Athena project at the end of 2009,” the company added.