Energy Holdings to buy Ventura Offshore to form $1 billion group, mulls US dual-listing
Energy Holdings to buy Ventura Offshore to form $1 billion group, mulls US dual-listing Sept 11 (Reuters) - Cyprus-based oil and gas company Energy Holdings ENH.OL has agreed to buy deepwater drilling contractor Ventura Offshore VTURA.OL to create a larger platform for cash generation, shareholder distribution and growth, the Oslo-listed companies said on Friday.
Under the agreement, Ventura shareholders would receive 605 million shares in Energy Holdings. That implies a pro forma equity value of about $1 billion for the combined company, based on Energy Holdings' last closing price and the maximum number of shares to be issued.
The deal would allow Ventura shareholders to gain exposure to a larger and more diversified portfolio of cash-generative businesses, Ventura CEO Guilherme Coelho said.
Both Coelho and Energy Holdings CEO Kurt Waldeland would continue in their current roles.
Ventura Offshore would be delisted from Oslo Euronext Growth.
Energy Holdings expects the new board to consider a potential U.S. dual-listing and IPO for the combined group, Waldeland said.
(Reporting by Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
((alexanderklyve.gudbrandsen@thomsonreuters.com))