Ithaca Energy (IAE) – itself regularly touted as a takeover target – has announced that it has agreed to acquire Valiant Petroleum (VPP) for £203m in a cash and paper deal that would allow the North Sea operator to double its production forecast for the year. Valiant shareholders will receive 307p in cash and 1.33 Ithaca shares for each Valiant share, for a combined value of 475p a share. The offer represents a 37 per cent premium to Valiant's previous day closing price.
Valiant chose the day of the announcement to bury news that it had plugged and closed its Timon Well in the northern North Sea as a dry hole. Valiant endured a difficult 2012 on the exploration front, and following a series of heavy write-downs at the half-year mark, it effectively put itself up for sale last September.
