The latest development concerning Seplat’s acquisition of Eland Oil & Gas is that a Court has sanctioned the scheme of arrangement. This happened on Thursday, December 12th according to a public disclosure that was sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
This is a good development for the acquisition process, which was initially met with a major glitch, after a firm, Starcrest Nigeria Energy Ltd, raised some red flags exactly one month after the acquisition was announced on October 15th.
“Eland and Seplat are pleased to announce that the Scheme was sanctioned by the Court earlier today. The Scheme will become effective upon the Court Order being delivered to the Registrar of Companies, which is expected to take place on 17 December 2019.”
What you need to know: Please, note that according to the Companies Act (2006), asset acquisitions of this magnitude must be sanctioned by a court before it can be finalised. The court sanction must follow the necessary approvals that must be given by the majority of stakeholders in the companies concerned.
Earlier in November, the concerned shareholders in both Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Eland Oil & Gas met during a court-ordered meeting and reportedly approved the scheme of acquisition.
(READ MORE: Seplat reacts to negative newspaper publication on new CEO appointment)
Recall that Nairametrics reported Seplat’s bid to acquire the entire issued ordinary shares in Eland Oil & Gas, an independent exploration company that was founded in 2009 and “listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s growth market.”
What is next? Once again, the scheme of acquisition will not become effective until the Court Order is delivered to the Registrar of Companies. This is expected sometime next week, December 17th to be precise. In the meantime, the following should be expected as well:
- On December 16th, there will be an immediate suspension of trading on the shares of Eland Oil and Gas.
- December 16th will also be the last day for anyone to register to transfer Eland shares
- Admission to trade Eland shares on AIM will be cancelled on December 18th starting from 7 am.
- The issuance of scheme shares in view of court sanction starts today December 13th.
To read the entire public disclosure, click here.
