Reabold Resources has completed a deal to buy Simwell Resources, the North Sea-focused oil explorer, for about £1 million in a mix of cash and new shares.
The Aim-listed Reabold, an oil and gas investment firm, has interests in North America and Europe. In November last year Corallian Energy, one of its North Sea investments, was sold in a deal worth £32 million.
Reabold said then that it planned to use its proceeds, about £12.7 million, to back its other projects, look for further acquisition opportunities and return cash to shareholders.
Simwell, which is privately owned and is based in London, holds minority interests in four licences in the North Sea. Those include the P2332 exploration prospect, which is operated by Shell and where Simwell has a 30 per cent stake. Horizon Energy operates three other licences, where Simwell has a 10 per cent holding in each.
Reabold announced the initial deal in September and said it had been completed yesterday. The terms are broadly the same as revealed in the autumn, although slightly more shares are being issued and the amount of cash being paid to creditors is rising by £40,000 to about £370,000. More than 247 million new Reabold shares will be issued as part of the deal being finalised. The share were flat at about ¼p.
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•Ithaca Energy, the London-listed oil and gas company, said an exploration well in which it has an interest had encountered hydrocarbons. The Isabella prospect lies about 105 miles east of Aberdeen and close to existing infrastructure in the North Sea. Total, the licence operator, is now gathering data to assess whether the oil reservoir can sustain commercial production.
