Join our community of traders FOR FREE!

  • Learn
  • Improve yourself
  • Get Rewards
Learn More

Ophir Energy Plc has pulled out its offer to Premier Oil Plc for merging the two companies businesses. According to people with knowledge of the process, Premier Oil has rejected two offers for acquisitions. Ophir Energy has been seeking to finalize a merger with a larger competitor in order to boost its cash flow.

As reported by the Financial Times, Ophir Energy Plc made an official statement posted today that it “is no longer considering making an offer for Premier”.

On the other hand, Premier Oil has recently announced that it was looking for a new Chief Executive Officer to take the lead after Mr. Simon Lockett have left the company in February. According to the people with knowledge of the matter, the first offer of Ophir Energy Plc came only a few days after the announcement.

The pre-tax profit of Premier Oil for 2013 amounted to 285 million dollars. The company was reported to have produced a total of 582 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2013. If the deal was to be finalized, that would have provided Ophir with cash flow for further investments. Over the last few years, Ophir Energy has mainly focused on exploration and succeeded in making a large gas find in 2012 in the region of Tanzanias coast. Ophir Energy Plc announced 667 million dollars in cash for the previous financial year.

Premier would have also benefited by an eventual deal, especially considering the fact that its share price have decreased by about 11% over 2013.

If an eventual deal was to be sealed, such a merger would have put the new entity on the position of the fifth-biggest oil and gas company listed at the London Stock Exchange, with a market cap of about 3 billion pounds. Moreover, such a deal would have provided a significant cash flow to Ophir Energy by adding some of Premiers products and production assets.

The current Chief Executive Officer of Ophir Energy – Mr. Nick Cooper explained that the company will still be focused on exploration and appraisal.

Ophir Energy Plc lost 1.36% to trade at 240 pence per share by 14:22 GMT, marking a one year change of -40.46%.

TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover Forex, Price Action and Social Trading.

Related News

  • Forex Market: AUD/USD daily trading outlookForex Market: AUD/USD daily trading outlook Yesterday’s trade saw AUD/USD within the range of 0.6825-0.6942. The pair closed at 0.6940, going up 0.48% on a daily basis. It has been the 4th gain in the past 13 trading days and also a second consecutive one. In addition, the daily low was […]
  • Forex Market: USD/SGD trading forecast for MondayForex Market: USD/SGD trading forecast for Monday Friday’s trade saw USD/SGD within the range of 1.2472-1.2498. The pair closed at 1.2495, losing 0.01% on a daily basis, while gaining 0.32% for the whole week.Fundamental viewUnited StatesActivity in US services sector probably […]
  • Auto sales in the US would be slightly lower in December from a year ago, says WardsAutoAuto sales in the US would be slightly lower in December from a year ago, says WardsAuto On December 22nd WardsAuto, a publication and industry consultant, projected that automobile sales in the United States would decrease slightly in December compared to the same month a year earlier, with the seasonally adjusted annualized […]
  • Shell share price down, reduces spending to offset lower oil pricesShell share price down, reduces spending to offset lower oil prices Royal Dutch Shell reported on Thursday performance below expectations and announced a plan to reduce capital investments as a measure to counter falling oil prices.The Anglo-Dutch oil company reported profit of $3.26 billion, excluding […]
  • Forex Market: USD/CAD daily trading outlookForex Market: USD/CAD daily trading outlook Yesterday’s trade saw USD/CAD within the range of 1.3167-1.3285. The pair closed at 1.3176, falling 0.75% on a daily basis. It has been the 28th drop in the past 60 trading days and also the steepest one since March 17th, when the cross went […]
  • AUD/USD steady after Chinese set of dataAUD/USD steady after Chinese set of data Australian dollar was trading steadily against the US counterpart on Friday, poised for the largest weekly gain in a month, following the release of a series of crucial economic data out of China, while expectations appeared that the Federal […]