UK's IGas Acquires Australia's Dart Energy

UK’s IGas has acquired Australia’s Dart Energy in an all share deal valuing Dart at approximately A$211.5 million.

Dart shareholders will hold approximately 30.5% of the enlarged company.

The two companies believe that their coming together will create a market leading onshore UK oil and gas company with the largest area in the UK under licence of over 1 million net acres including major UK shale basins.

IGas currently operates the UK’s only CBM pilot site at Warrington in the North West of England and is currently appraising and exploring its North West and East Midlands acreage for
its shale and CBM potential.

Also, in light of the proposed transaction, the intended admission of Dart to AIM, which was scheduled to occur on 12 May 2014, has been cancelled.  

IGas is planning to gradually divest all non-UK assets of Dart with a view to maximizing cash return and enabling all resources and opportunities to be applied to the UK unconventional gas opportunity.

Apart from UK, Dart has unconventional gas assets, mainly shale and CBM, in Australia, Germany, Belgium, Indonesia and India. The Australian firm does not consider these operations core to its current strategy. 

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