PETRONAS, the Malaysian national oil and gas company, and
Progress Energy Resources Corp. (PRQ.TO) have entered into an
agreement for the purchase by PETRONAS Canada of all of Progress'
outstanding common shares at a cash price of C$20.45 per share.
Including the amount to be paid for Progress' outstanding
convertible debentures, the transaction is valued at approximately
C$5.5 billion. The transaction is to be completed by way of an
arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta).
Highlights
- Cash price of C$20.45 per Progress share
- Transaction has received the unanimous approval of Progress'
Board of Directors
- PETRONAS brings substantial investments in LNG infrastructure
and access to world markets through established channels
- Canadian operations to remain based in Calgary for upstream
with commercial office in Vancouver for LNG
The transaction price represents a premium of 77% over Progress'
closing share price on the Toronto Stock Exchange of C$11.55 on
June 27, 2012, and 83% over Progress' 30-trading day volume
weighted average trading price of C$11.18 per share ending on June
27, 2012.
The acquisition of Progress is consistent with PETRONAS'
strategy of strengthening its position as one of the global leaders
in Liquefied Natural Gas (
LNG
). The transaction follows a joint venture established between the
two companies last year to develop a portion of Progress' Montney
shale assets in the Foothills of northeast British Columbia which
reflected the desire by both parties to explore additional
opportunities to develop LNG export capacity on the west coast of
British Columbia.
Net Benefit to Canada:
"The proposed transaction will combine PETRONAS' significant
global expertise and leadership in developing LNG infrastructure
with Progress' extensive experience in unconventional resource
development to build a strong and growing world class energy
business based in Canada," said Datuk Anuar Ahmad, Executive Vice
President of the gas and power business for PETRONAS. "This
development will generate substantial economic benefits for the
provinces and local communities, as PETRONAS' access to capital
will help to bring Canada's abundant and clean-burning natural gas
resources to global markets, leveraging our well-established and
extensive network of customers worldwide."