Libya buys Canada oil company after talks with China collapse

New York: Canada-based oil producer Verenex Energy Inc said it has agreed to be sold to the Libyan Investment Authority for about C$314.1 million (Dh1.07 billion) in cash, after a better deal with a Chinese firm fell through.

In a memorandum of understanding announced Friday, the sovereign wealth fund agreed to pay C$7.09 per share for Verenex's outstanding shares, a steep discount to its original commitment of C$10 per share in March, when it promised to match an offer by China's CNPC International Ltd.

Based on Verenex's 44.3 million shares outstanding at June 30, the deal is valued at about C$314.1 million.

Verenex's deal with CNPC had been troubled for months.

In March, Libya's state-run National Oil Corp said it would exercise its right of first refusal, which gave it the right to block CNPC's bid to buy the Can-adian oil and gas firm. Verenex has operations in Libya's Area-47, a region estimated to hold roughly 2.15 billion barrels of crude oil reserves. Then in June, Libya's NOC claimed that Verenex had acquired Area 47 through an improper bidding process.

CNPC remained interested after an August 24 deadline for the deal passed without a decision from Libyan authorities, but in early September, Verenex announced that the Chinese company had withdrawn.