Aminex PLC Further re Sale of Aminex USA (7489J)
17 June 2014 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAEX
RNS Number : 7489J
Aminex PLC
17 June 2014
17 JUNE 2014
Aminex plc
("Aminex" or "the Company")
Further re: Sale of Aminex USa inc.
Sale and Purchase Agreement signed for the sale of Aminex USA
Inc. for a total consideration of $5,000,000.
Further to the Company's 9 May 2014 statement, the Board of
Aminex PLC ("Aminex" or the "Company"), an independent oil and gas
company premium-listed on the London Stock Exchange and
primary-listed on the Irish Stock Exchange with activities focused
in Tanzania, is pleased to announce that it has signed a sale and
purchase agreement for the sale of Aminex USA Inc. ("Aminex USA")
to Northcote Energy Ltd. ("Northcote"), an AIM listed oil and gas
company, and Springer Oil and Gas LLC. ("Springer"), a private
company, for a total consideration of USD$5,000,000.
Consideration from the sale of Aminex's US portfolio of assets,
which mainly comprise the Shoats Creek field in Louisiana and the
Alta Loma field in Texas, will allow the Company to pay down part
of its loan facility and provides further flexibility for working
capital.
Principle terms of the transaction:
-- Sale of Aminex USA to Northcote and Springer for a total consideration of US$5,000,000;
-- US$5,000,000 payment comprises: US$150,000 of cash,
US$350,000 worth of Northcote ordinary shares at a price to be set
once shareholder approval is received (which will be considered as
an asset available for sale) and a production payment of US$10 per
barrel until a total of US$4,500,000 has been recovered with first
payments to commence from 1 January 2015;
-- Northcote and Springer to invest a minimum of US$1,000,000
development capital into the assets over the next 12 months to
increase production from the assets;
-- Development capital and the cash consideration of US$150,000
to be secured by 115 million ordinary shares of Northcote pledged
by its largest shareholder, RiverBend Energy LLC., with a current
market value of approximately US$1,500,000; and
-- In the event that Northcote or Springer dispose of any of
their interests in Aminex USA, Aminex will receive 50% of the
proceeds and up to a maximum of US$1,500,000 against the
outstanding balance of the production payment and the production
payment will remain a continuing obligation.
At 31 December 2013, the gross assets of Aminex USA amounted to
US$5.83 million. For the year end 31 December 2013, operations by
Aminex USA gave rise to a loss of US$10.4 million, including the
loss on disposal of the South Weslaco field. The proved and
probable reserves at 31 December 2013 were independently estimated
to amount to 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent but required
US$27.4 million of investment. The Directors believed that this
level of capital expenditure and a potential decommissioning
liability amounting to US$2 million (31 December 2013) were not
warranted on its US assets when the Company's stated strategy is to
focus on its African assets.
The sale of Aminex USA constitutes a Class 1 transaction for the
purposes of the Listing Rules of the Irish Stock Exchange and UK
Listing Authority, as such, requires the prior approval of
Company's shareholders. Accordingly, a circular in relation to the
transaction will be dispatched to shareholders in due course to
convene an extraordinary general meeting to seek shareholder
approval.
Commenting, Aminex Chief Executive Jay Bhattacherjee said:
"The sale of Aminex USA will allow the Company to pay down part
of its current loan facility and creates flexibility for working
capital, enabling the Board to continue its focus on its core
business in Tanzania. We continue to be confident that first gas
production from Kiliwani North will begin in early 2015 and look
forward to updating the market during Q3 2014 on the results of the
new seismic programme at our Ntorya-1 discovery. We also watch the
upcoming drilling from other operators in the Ruvuma Basin with
interest."
For further information:
Aminex PLC +44 20 7291 3100
Jay Bhattacherjee, Chief Executive
Officer
Max Williams, Chief Financial Officer
Corporate Brokers
Shore Capital Stockbrokers-Jerry
Keen +44 20 7408 4090
Davy Corporate Finance-Brian Garrahy +35 3 1679 7788
GMP Securities Europe LLP-Rob Collins +44 20 7647 2816
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR) +44 79 7140 2224
John Moriarty
Dominic Barretto
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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