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BP p.l.c. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has made a non-binding offer to take NewMed Energy through an acquisition of the free float and a partial acquisition of Delek Group Ltd’ stake for approximately $2 billion.
The Israel-based NewMed Energy is an energy partnership in the exploration, development, production and sale of natural gas and condensate.
This would result in ADNOC and BP holding 50% of NewMed Energy, the state-owned energy company said in a statement on Tuesday.
NewMed Energy is a subsidiary of Delek Group and holds 45.34% of the Leviathan Reservoir, the largest natural gas reservoir in the Mediterranean. Last year, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum acquired from Delek Drilling a 22% stake in the east Mediterranean Tamar gas field for about $1 billion.
ADNOC and BP intend to form a new joint venture that will be focused on gas development in international areas of mutual interest, including the East Mediterranean. This proposed transaction with NewMed Energy would be a significant first step in establishing the JV with BP.
"If completed, this would strengthen the broader strategic partnership between ADNOC and bp across energy, renewables and carbon capture and storage technology and would deepen the partners’ long-standing relationship," ADNOC said.
Meanwhile, NewMed Energy said in a regulatory filing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that the ADNOC-BP consortium will make a cash offer of 12.05 Israeli shekels ($3.37) per share for all of the partnership's shares held by the public and some of the units held by Delek Group Ltd.
According to Refinitiv data, NewMed's outstanding stock currently amounts to 1.17 billion, valuing the whole company at $3.94 billion.
The non-binding offer reflects a premium of approximately 72% to the closing price of the units on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on 26 March, 2023 (ILS6.996), it added.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
