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European law firm Fieldfisher has advised the nominated adviser and joint brokers on the reverse takeover by San Leon Energy plc and placing of 378,400,000 new shares at 45 pence per share, raising £170.3m – the biggest fundraising on AIM so far this year.
The funds are being used by San Leon to complete the acquisition of a 9.72% indirect economic interest in OML 18, the Nigerian onshore oil and gas asset, as well as for general corporate purposes. This is San Leon's first entry into the onshore industry in Nigeria, which is one of the largest oil producing countries in the world. OML 18 is currently producing approximately 50,000 barrels of oil (bopd) and 50 million cubic feet of gas (MMscfpd) per day. The development plan for OML 18 is to increase production to approximately 115,000 bopd and 485 MMscfpd by 2020.
The transaction also involved a whitewash of the mandatory takeover obligations under the Irish Takeover Code in respect of the participation by Toscafund Asset Management in the placing and approval from the Irish Takeover Panel of the transaction as a reverse takeover.
Fieldfisher advised SP Angel Corporate Finance, which acted as nominated adviser and joint broker to the deal, as well as Whitman Howard and Brandon Hill Capital (joint brokers). The Energy & Natural Resources Group was led by Brad Isaac, partner in the Equity Capital Markets (ECM) practice, with support from ECM colleagues Owain Davies and Ed Westhead, oil and gas associate Naomi Nguyen and trainee Emily Purdy.
Fieldfisher's Energy & Natural Resources Group advises clients from across the industry, including national oil companies, super-majors, financial institutions and small and mid-sized operators, providing clear, focused commercial advice regardless of where the client operates. The firm sits in eighth place in the latest Adviser Rankings guide (Q3 2016) for number of AIM-listed clients, and fourth for number of AIM-listed oil and gas clients.
Brad Isaac, partner who led the deal, said: "Our involvement in this deal demonstrates not only our expertise in advising on ECM transactions generally, but also our position as a leading adviser in the energy and natural resources space. This was a complex transaction and a real game changer for the company and we're delighted to have been involved. It validates the firm's commitment to the energy and natural resources sectors."