Oil and gas company Beach Energy has decided not to exercise its matching right in relation to an off-market takeover bid made by Hancock Energy to acquire Warrego Energy.
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Beach Energy CEO Morné Engelbrecht said, “The multiple party bidding process for Warrego has reinforced our view of the value of our dominant acreage position in the Perth Basin and encourages us to expand our current active exploration drilling program in one of the most exciting gas plays in Australia.
“In applying Beach’s disciplined approach to inorganic growth, we propose to invest further exploration capital into our existing prospects and drilling inventory in the Perth Basin. Beach will look to accelerate exploration, development and commercialisation of our acreage to deliver more gas for Western Australia,” Engelbrecht said.
Beach Energy originally entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed (SID) with Warrego Energy under which Beach would acquire all the issued shares in Warrego for $0.20 cash per share, plus any net proceeds received from the sale of Warrego’s Spanish assets, by way of a members’ scheme of arrangement.
On December 1, the Warrego Board announced it had received an off-market takeover offer received from Hancock Energy to acquire all of the fully paid ordinary shares in Warrego at an offer price of $0.23 per share.
Beach submitted an increased counterproposal to acquire all the issued shares in Warrego Energy for $0.25 per share cash consideration, plus any net proceeds received from the sale of Warrego’s Spanish assets.
The proposed acquisition marked the first merger and acquisition activity for Beach since 2017, adding an additional development opportunity for new gas supply beyond Beach’s Waitsia Stage 2 LNG volumes and gas exploration drilling, which is soon to commence.
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The ability to utilise Beach’s balance sheet and proven development expertise provides further support not only for the transaction but future gas developments in the Perth Basin.
