Afren founder Bert Cooper rumoured to have backing for buyout from Vitol and China ZhenHua Oil
One of Afren’s co-founders, Bert Cooper, is said to be heading a group considering a buyout of the London-listed oil and gas company, the Financial Times reported. The market report did not cite a source for the information but said Cooper, a Liberian national, is believed to have secured the backing of such companies as ZhenHua Oil of China and the Netherlands-headquartered commodity trader Vitol.
The report noted that Afren’s share price has halved in value since the company announced last month that Nigeria-based exploration and production company Seplat had made a preliminary merger approach.
UK-based Afren, which focuses on mining in Nigeria, has a current market capitalisation of GBP 286.6m (USD 434.4m).
Financial Times
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Nigeria-focused Afren dropped a further 5.2 per cent to 25.9p following its write-off of Kurdistan assets on Monday, and in spite of rumours about a possible counterbid for the explorer.
Bert Cooper, the Liberian mining entrepreneur who co-founded Afren, was rumoured to be leading a group examining taking the explorer private. Mr Cooper’s potential buyout of Afren was said to have won backing from companies including Vitol, the commodity trader, and China’s ZhenHua Oil.
Afren said in December it had received a “highly preliminary” approach from Nigerian peer Seplat over a possible merger. The shares have since halved....