Business
Intended offer for Antrim Energy Inc.
Intended offer for Antrim Energy Inc..
About this update from Sound Energy Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 7473X Sound Oil PLC 24 November 2014 \n \n\n \nNOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION\n \nNOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES\n \n24 November 2014\n \nSound Oil plc\n(\"Sound Oil\" or the \"Company\")\n \nIntended offer for Antrim Energy Inc.\n \nSound Oil, the European focused upstream oil and gas company, announces that it intends to launch a public offer (the \"Intended Offer\") for 100 per cent. of the share capital of Antrim Energy Inc. (\"Antrim\"). \n \nThe combined business would leverage Sound Oil's technical, financial and commercial expertise to maximise the potential of the combined group, creating a high impact exploration company with producing assets generating revenue covering its cost base and with both the scale and geographic diversity to appeal to a wider range of institutional and retail investors.\n \nSound Oil's strategy is to build a pan-European oil and gas business of scale, leveraging off its strong Italian portfolio. Sound Oil views a combination of Antrim and Sound Oil as representing an attractive step in the implementation of this strategy. Sound Oil believes the transaction has the potential to create significant value for both sets of shareholders. In particular, a combination would:\n \n· Add a third significant exploration asset (the offshore Skellig Block in Ireland) to Sound Oil's existing exploration portfolio (including the Badile and Zibido prospects in Italy). The prospect in Ireland is due to commence drilling in 2016 and therefore dovetails with the 2015 drilling of Badile, providing shareholders with exposure to multiple exploration prospects; \n· Combine two strong balance sheets to create a larger European focused upstream vehicle with a pro forma cash balance of circa £23M through which further asset or corporate acquisitions can be undertaken;\n· Secure wider (institutional and retail) investor appeal due to increased scale, increased newsflow and trading liquidity; and\n· Capture significant cost syn...