Nigerian leading indigenous oil player in the Niger Delta rich oil region; Seplat Petroleum Development Company (SEPLAT) has resumed talks for the potential acquisition of an asset in the region and has made an agreement with the sellers to set aside a smaller pool of funds ahead of a possible deal amid the sharp recently global fall in oil prices.
Seplat which has found her place in the UK and Nigerian stock exchange market and co-founded by A.B.C Orjiakor is part of a consortium seeking to buy the asset and the details of the asset or seller is confidential as part of the deal negotiations from a major player in the region.
Some of the major companies operating in the region include Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), Chevron Corp. (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), ExxonMobil Corp (XOM), Total S.A (TOT) and ENI S.p.A (ENI.MI).
Seplat said it has now set aside $74 million, made up of a returnable deposit with the vendors and money deposited in an escrow account, compared with $453 million set aside last year as its share of the consortium’s pre-deal commitments. The company said it now has access to $368 million in cash that was previously held in an escrow account. The company's stock price surged on the news, rising 7.4% in London to 116 pence, giving Seplat a market capitalization of GBP 642 million or $987 million.
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