UK IOG Scraps Deltic Bid
UK Independent Oil & Gas (IOG) has abandoned its bid for fellow minnow Deltic Energy, it said October 5. It had announced a possible all-share offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Deltic September 11 but has now said it does not intend to bid again. It said that Deltic had rejected its first and second offers, the latter of which was made on September 25 and rejected October 2.
IOG was the second company to be rebuffed, after Reabold Resources failed to woo shareholders with its promises of faster growth.
IOG said a "transaction would have considerable industrial logic, consolidating and scaling up two complementary portfolios with a balance of near-term catalysts and longer-term upside, representing excellent value for both sets of shareholders."
But it said it would not raise its bid, "not least given the quality of its own existing portfolio and near-term development opportunities."
IOG's first gas is expected in Q3 2021 and it is also expecting to create "substantial additional shareholder value from the extensive growth opportunities within its existing southern North Sea gas portfolio, including several further proven gas discoveries, multiple nearby potential incremental investment assets and two further synergistic gas discoveries in the recently released 32nd Round licence offers."
IOG has also been the target of takeover talks: RockRose approached it, hoping to take advantage of the financial difficulties of major creditor London Capital & Finance, but failed. It was itself bought by Viaro in July.