Cairn is pleased to announce the acquisition of Agora Oil & Gas AS (Agora) subject to regulatory approval, a private Norwegian company with non-operated, exploration, appraisal and development assets in the United Kingdom (UK) and Norwegian North Sea.
The enterprise value of the proposed acquisition of Agora as at 1 January 2012 was $375 million (m), including $58m of potential tax shelter in the UK and Norway. The business held net working capital of $75m, giving a total consideration of $450m to be satisfied through a combination of approximately 43% cash and 57% Cairn shares. The Agora team holds 16% equity and will receive approximately 90% of their consideration in Cairn shares. Agora is currently owned by RIT Capital Partners PLC and Lord Rothschild's family interests, along with management. The transaction is subject to consent from the relevant regulatory authorities in the UK and Norway.
Agora will add drilling activity to Cairn's 2012 exploration and appraisal programme, with nine wells, eight firm and one contingent, scheduled to be drilled in the UK and Norway in 2012. The proposed acquisition includes Agora's 15% stake in the Catcher area planned for development and a 20% interest in the Tybalt discovery, which both have further drilling programmes planned this year. We estimate that Agora has 22 mmboe in 2C contingent resources (95% oil) and a growing prospective resource currently estimated at 49 mmboe (net Pmean risked) and 213 mmboe (net Pmean unrisked), held through 10-30% non-operated interests in 11 licences. Three wells are currently operating: two exploration wells (Skarfjell and Cladhan South); and one appraisal well (Tybalt).
The transaction is an important step forward in Cairn's stated goal of expanding the portfolio by adding lower risk, near term exploration, appraisal and development assets to complement transformational frontier exploration in Greenland and the Mediterranean, resulting in a more balanced overall business.
The Agora team that will join Cairn has a proven ability to create and realise value through exploration, appraisal and development. Previously, the same team built Revus Energy ASA from an initial value of US$170m in 2005 to its $750m sale value in 2008. Their experience in creatively identifying new play concepts and prospects in a relatively mature basin will be a significant asset and highly complementary to the Cairn team.