PTTEP Approves Issuance of 650 Million Shares, Thailand

The Board of Directors of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited approved the issuance of up to 650 million new ordinary shares.

The capital increase and the proposed Offering are subject to approval by the Company’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting scheduled for October 29 at the Bangkok Convention Center. The date of determination of the names of shareholders entitled to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will be October 12, 2012 (Record Date).

The new shares will be offered and allocated to all eligible existing shareholders whose names appear in the share register book as of November 12, 2012. The last day on which investors may purchase PTTEP’s ordinary shares and still be entitled to subscribe for new ordinary shares is on November 7, 2012. There will be no separate tranche allotted to PTT.

All eligible existing shareholders (including US Qualified Institutional Buyers pursuant to applicable US securities law exemptions) will be allocated up to their entire pro-rata entitlements. If there are shares remaining, the remaining shares will be allocated to shareholders who subscribe over their entitlement on a pro-rata basis for at least one more round. In the event that there remain shares from allocation to eligible existing shareholders, the Company may offer such shares to institutional investors.

The final offering price will be the same to all subscribers and will be determined via a bookbuilding method to help achieve a market-driven offering price. The final offering price will be publicly announced ahead of the subscription period, along with the subscription ratio and the final number of shares to be offered. PTT, as the majority shareholder of PTTEP, will not participate in the bookbuilding but will fully support the Company by subscribing for the new ordinary shares.

Proceeds raised from the Offering will be used to repay in full the bridge financing related to the acquisition of Cove Energy; to repay certain other indebtedness; and for general corporate purposes, including funding our exploration, development, production and acquisition activities.

Mr. Tevin Vongvanich, President and Chief Executive Officer of PTTEP, said:  “Since the Company announced the cancellation of the last shareholders meeting in August, we have revised the allocation structure for clarity and transparency. The Company’s intention for our shareholders to receive preferential rights and subscribe over their entitlements remains unchanged. The final offering price will be determined via a bookbuilding process, which will reflect market demand at the time of subscription, and will be the same for all participants.

The remaining shares, if any, will be allocated to institutional investors. The management team has actively engaged with shareholders to discuss the Company’s business strategies and the rationale behind the capital increase. We are confident that our shareholders share in the Company’s vision. The transaction is an important step towards achieving our goal of sustainable growth, providing the Company with a robust balance sheet, and continuing to deliver on shareholder returns. The offering is expected to be completed by the end of this year. We encourage all shareholders to participate and support the Company at the EGM on October 29, 2012.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Finansa Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Phatra Securities, Tisco Securities and UBS have been appointed as Joint Bookrunners for this capital increase.

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LNG World News Staff, September 27, 2012