Delek Drilling, Avner Merger Forms $4.4bn Partnership

Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration said May 16 that the preconditions for Avner's merger into Delek Drilling have been met, and that the merged partnership is expected to begin trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) on May 21.

The two partnerships own a combined shareholding of 31.25% in Tamar Partnership and 45.34% in Leviathan. Delek has to sell down its holdings in Tamar by the end of 2021.

The move was led by Delek Drilling CEO and Avner CEO Yossi Abu (pictured, above) and CFO Yossi Gevura. Abu said that Delek Drilling would consider a dual listing of the merged corporation on a foreign exchange alongside the TASE, in order to increase the investor base and access to international capital markets.

The merged entity will be traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) under the name "Delek Drilling" and it will be listed on the list of the 10 largest public companies in Israel with an expected market value of NIS 16bn ($4.44bn). The bond series of the partnerships will also be consolidated into a single series of $400mn.

Tamar rig

(Credit: Tamar)

The conversion ratio of the participation units between Delek Drilling and Avner remains at 5.32 as determined in the approval of the merger in the partnerships.

The merger process, which began about a year ago, is in the final stages, after receiving, inter alia, the approval of the Petroleum Commissioner, the approval of the Tax Authority and the approval of Midroog, a rating company, which confirmed that the merger would not affect the consolidated partnership's debt rating.

Ya'acov Zalel