By John Lee. Ride-sharing services Uber, from the United States, and Careem of Dubai, have reached an agreement for Uber to acquire Careem for $3.1 billion, consisting of $1.7 billion in convertible notes and $1.4 billion in cash. The acquisition of Careem is subject to applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in […]
By John Lee. WesternZagros Resources has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Crest Energy International LLC and its wholly owned affiliate WZG Acquisition Ltd. ("Crest AcquireCo") to take the company private. Crest is an affiliate of Crest Investment Company, a Houston, Texas-based principal investment company. Under the deal, Crest AcquireCo will […]
DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, this morning unveiled a proposal to acquire for USD 300 million all of the enlarged share capital in Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd following the latter's contemplated financial restructuring announced earlier this month. The terms of the DNO proposal, which would comprise cash and shares, reflect a 20 […]
By John Lee. Genel Energy's chief executive has said he may step down as CEO as early as the end of this year to become Chairman. Reuters reports that Tony Hayward (pictured) also told the FT Commodities Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Wednesday that low oil prices will trigger consolidation in the oil industry in […]
By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), operator of the Shaikan field (pictured) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, jumped 65 percent on Wednesday after the company announced that it has recently engaged in discussions with a number of parties in relation to possible asset transactions or a sale of the company. GKP […]
By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) have gained around 10 percent this week on rumours of a takeover. Bloomberg reports that, as the world’s biggest oil companies look for untapped fields, the company is sitting on a giant oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan that wouldn’t look out of place in a major’s […]
A new report from Deloitte, entitled "Mergers and Acquisitions in the Oil and Gas Industry -- Current upstream M&A issues and transaction considerations", looks at the factors affecting investment in Iraq: "Iraqi production, which has now passed the 3 million barrel per day level, is benefiting from foreign investors with the expertise to exploit these […]
By John Lee. Qatar National Bank (QNB) has announced that it has taken control of Iraq's Al-Mansour Investment Bank. It acquired an additional 27.7 percent shareholding for a cash payment of QR425.4 million, bringing its interest in the bank to 50.8 percent. The company said that goodwill of QR117.6 million has been determined on acquisition […]
Shares in Heritage Oil, the petroleum explorer and producer with operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, have been suspended following the announcement of a major acquisition in Nigeria. Together with a local Nigerian partner, Shoreline Power Company Limited, the company has reached agreement to acquire a 45% participating interest in a producing oil mining lease in Nigeria […]
Tony Hayward, CEO of Genel Energy, said today that the company will not buy Gulf Keystone Petroleum or DNO International because the entry of ExxonMobil into the region has forced up prices, reports Bloomberg. “It’s too expensive for us ... What changed is Exxon coming in. We don’t need any more Kurdistan.” "We are not […]
Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) closed up over 21% on Tuesday on renewed bid rumours, having been up as much as 40% in intraday trading. The company, which issued an update on operations on Monday, last month denied that is was in takeover talks, following rumours that ExxonMobil was considering making a bid for […]
Genel Energy, the oil and gas company headed by Tony Hayward (pictured), the former BP chief executive, has confirmed that it is in talks about a deal that would expand its presence in Iraq's energy industry. The company issued the following statement on Wednesday: "Genel Energy plc notes the press speculation with regard to the […]
