Dubai: The UAE's Aabar Petroleum Investments Co announced a bid for Singapore's Pearl Energy yesterday, offering to pay S$1.95 per share for the 52 per cent stake it does not own.
A statement from the company said the all-cash offer valued Pearl Energy, an oil and gas exploration firm, at S$865 million ($533.6 million) and that Aabar wanted to de-list Pearl and make it a wholly owned subsidiary.
Shares in Pearl last traded at S$1.98, but Aabar said the offer represented a premium of approximately 18.8 per cent of the volume-weighted average price of Pearl's shares for the last month of trading.
"If Aabar receives acceptances representing 90 per cent or more of the offer shares, it would exercise its rights of compulsory acquisition under Singapore's Companies Act," the statement said.
In January Aabar Petro-leum announced that it had agreed to buy a 48 per cent stake in Pearl Energy from its main shareholder, Indonesia-based Austindo Group, for S$418 million.
Pearl Energy announced a pretax profit of $65.23 million in 2005 against a loss of $2.80 in 2004.
The statement said Pearl Energy had an asset portfolio that included interests in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
"The acquisition of existing companies with a proven track record in the oil and gas sector is at the centre of Aabar's growth strategy," the statement said.
Aabar wanted to de-list Pearl
Energy and make it a wholly-owned subsidiary, says a statement
from the company.
