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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Jan. 12 ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, is set to pay the shareholders of Imperial Energy Corporation Plc, who have accepted OVL’s open offer, on Tuesday.

The ONGC Chairman and Managing Director, Mr R.S. Sharma, told newspersons on the sidelines of Petrotech 2009 said that “Imperial shareholders, who have accepted OVL’s open offer for acquiring the company, will be paid on Tuesday.”

For the acquisition, OVL has raised Rs 5,200 crore (coupon 8.15 per cent) through a commercial paper and the remaining is being provided as loan from the parent ONGC, he said. Citibank was the arranger for the commercial paper. Further, Rs 4,000 crore has been extended as cash loan from ONGC to OVL at an interest rate of less than 6 per cent.

OVL has paid $2.1 billion to take over the LSE-listed Imperial Energy Corporation Plc and plans to invest about $600 million over the next two to three years to develop the Russian assets of Imperial.

In December, OVL has acquired 96.8 per cent in Imperial. The company has deposited $2.1 billion with Imperial’s registrar to pay its shareholders and bondholders. Of this, $1.9 billion will be paid to Imperial’s shareholders and $200 million to its bondholders.

Imperial produces around 10,000 barrels of oil a day – which is to be raised to 25,000 barrels a day in the next couple of months and to 35,000 barrels a day by next year.

In another development, OVL is likely to pick up 30 to 40 per cent interest in Kazakhstan’s prospective Satpayev oil field in the Caspian Sea.

An agreement is expected to be signed during the visit of the Kazakhstan President, Mr Nursultan Nazarbayev, who will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade this year.

The Petroleum Secretary, Mr R.S. Pandey, and the OVL Managing Director, Mr R.S. Butola, are in Astana to conclude the agreement, an official said.

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Petroleum | Overseas Investments | Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd

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