Seplat plans London and Lagos float to fund acquisition drive
NIGERIAN oil and gas explorer Seplat yesterday said it is planning to float on the Nigerian and London stock exchanges to raise $500m (£301m).
The company, which is one of the largest indigenous independent oil and gas operators in Nigeria, plans to use part of the proceeds to buy up more oil and gas assets in the country.
International oil majors such as Chevron and Shell have put a number of their Nigerian onshore assets on the block, after political unrest hindered operations and ate into profits.
“The company believes that its local ties and Nigerian management are a strategic advantage in liaising with local communities where the company operates, such that strong community relations have reduced production interruptions,” said Seplat in a statement.
Seplat will now go on an investor roadshow for a few weeks, with trading expected to begin around April. It will apply for a main market listing in London, not a premium listing, as it would have had to move its headquarters from Nigeria to London to comply.
The firm’s revenues increased by 41 per cent to $880m last year, while operating profit rose by 45 per cent to $479m.
BEHIND THE DEAL
BNP PARIBAS | MARIANNE DARYABEGUI
1 The daughter of an Iranian surgeon father and French mother, Daryabegui spent 14 years in Germany before moving to Paris. She has master’s degrees in corporate finance and capital markets, as well as tax and corporate law.
2 She fell into the oil and gas sector accidentally, through a compulsory work placement with Total, where she spent eight years working on upstream acquisitions and investments.
3 Daryabegui then moved to BNP Paribas, where she advised on ConocoPhilips’ $1.7bn sale of assets to Oando Energy Resources, and worked with Seplat on its initial acquisition from Shell.
Also advising…
Ben Canning and Florence Sztuder are also on the BNP Paribas team. Citigroup is also advising, led by Tom Reid, Miguel Azevedo, Chris Bucknall and Samit Parekh. Standard Bank is headed up by Simon Matthews, Chris Godman and Yewande Sadiku. John Porter and Yvonne Ike lead the Renaissance Securities team, while at RBC it’s Tim Chapman, Stephen Foss, Matthew Coakes and Jakub Brogowski. Ben Brewerton and Natalia Erikssen from FTI Consulting are giving public relations advice.