Exxon-InterOil Deal Gets Court's Approval

The Supreme Court of Yukon has approved the pending InterOil-ExxonMobil transaction, including finding that the transaction is fair and reasonable. The decision of the Supreme Court of Yukon followed a contested hearing held on September 27.   

In a statement released October 10, InterOil said that the founder and former CEO Phil Mulacek, who contested the transaction at the previous court hearing, had filed a notice of appeal and requested a stay of the Supreme Court’s decision pending such appeal.

“InterOil intends to seek to have any appeal heard on an expedited basis, and InterOil and ExxonMobil intend to close the transaction promptly following receipt of a favourable resolution,” the company said.

In May, InterOil entered into a binding agreement to be acquired by Oil Search for $2.2bn, with Oil Search to sell a little over 60% to Total for $1.2bn. But on July 21, ExxonMobil trumped Oil Search’s bid to acquire InterOil with a $2.5bn-$3.6bn bid. The final price would depend on the size of the reserves that were eventually booked.

InterOil stated July 18 that ExxonMobil’s offer constitutes a 'superior proposal,' as defined in InterOil’s arrangement agreement with Oil Search. Without naming ExxonMobil, on June 30, InterOil had announced it received from a third party an unsolicited, conditional and non-binding takeover offer. 

Last month, shareholders of InterOil overwhelmingly voted to approve the company's takeover by ExxonMobil, which already operates an LNG terminal in Papua New Guinea and could expand if there were more feed gas.

Shardul Sharma