Enforcement of RBL security by Gunvor Group
PA Resources AB ("PA Resources" or the "Company") announces, further to the announcement of 7 April that its largest creditor and shareholder, Gunvor Group, has demanded repayment of amounts due under the Company's reserve based lending facility ("RBL"), that the Company has received notice that Gunvor has taken action to enforce its security under the RBL, being a pledge over the Company's shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Osborne Resources Limited ("Osborne"). Osborne owns interests in Equatorial Guinea, namely the producing Aseng and Alen fields, and the Block I exploration interest. The effect of this enforcement action is that Osborne is no longer a subsidiary of the Company and has become a subsidiary of Gunvor Group.
The Company has been informed that as a result of the enforcement action, the liabilities of all borrowers under the RBL have been discharged, other than certain liabilities owed by Osborne to Gunvor Group which remain in place after the transfer of the shares.
The receivers appointed by Gunvor Group in connection with the enforcement action have taken a call option over the shares in Osborne such that, if a bona fide and fully funded offer is made by any person for the shares in Osborne which, broadly, matches the consideration, 67 MUSD, for the transfer of the shares to Gunvor Group, the receivers can call for the shares to be transferred to that person. This call option will expire on 7 May 2015.
If the Company or any of its stakeholders were to make an offer for the shares in Osborne, such offer would also have to include a settlement of the outstanding amount, approximately 22 MUSD, owed by Osborne to Gunvor Group under the RBL.
As a result of the transaction Osborne will be deconsolidated from the Company per the 7 April 2015 and the Company’s debt and accrued interest under the RBL will be considered repaid in full. According to preliminary calculations the transaction will result in a net gain to the company of approximately 200 MSEK. A more precise calculation of the financial effects will be presented in conjunction with the report for the first quarter 2015.
The board of the Company is considering the implications of these actions taken by Gunvor Group and will provide a further update in due course.
Stockholm 8 April, 2015
PA Resources AB (publ)
For additional information, please contact:
Tomas Hedström, Chief Financial Officer
Phone: +46 8 545 211 50
E-mail: ir@paresources.se
PA Resources AB (publ) is an international oil and gas group which conducts exploration, development and production of oil and gas assets. The Group operates in Tunisia, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands and Germany. PA Resources is producing oil in West Africa and North Africa. The parent company is located in Stockholm, Sweden. PA Resources’ net sales amounted to SEK 603 million in 2014. The share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX in Stockholm, Sweden. For additional information, please visit www.paresources.se.
The above information has been made public in accordance with the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was published at 16:00 CET 8 April 2015.