Sinopec to Buy Swiss Oil Explorer Addax

飞雪寒冰

Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, has agreed to buy Swiss oil and gas exploration company Addax Petroleum Corp. for around US$7.24 billion, Addax Petroleum said.

Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp (SIPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec Group, offered C$52.8 per common share in cash, representing a 47 percent premium on Addax's June 5 closing price, the firm said in a June 24 statement on its website.

飞雪寒冰

Addax was founded in 1994 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company is listed in London and Toronto, has and has upstream oil projects in Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon. The company is also licensed to prospect in Kurd-controlled areas of Iraq.

The company's crude oil output in the first quarter this year averaged 135 million barrels per day.

SIPC has agreed to pay a break fee of C$300 million if it fails to obtain necessary regulatory approvals from the Chinese government by August 24, it said.

Addax's board recommended shareholders accept the offer and senior executives have entered a lock-up agreement to sell their 38 percent holding to the Chinese firm.

Sinopec outbid Korean National Oil Company for Addax.

"We are pleased that Sinopec has recognized the highly attractive asset portfolio of Addax Petroleum, while Addax Petroleum will cease to be a publicly traded company, we look forward to continuing our business in the countries in which we operate for the benefit of all stakeholders." said Jean Claude Gandur, Addax Petroleum's president and chief executive officer.