Will form the basis for a regional oil & gas development platform
Bucharest / London - Global alternative asset manager, The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire Romanian business of Sterling Resource Ltd. (TSX-V: SLG). The acquisition includes license blocks 13 Pelican, 15 Midia, 25 Luceafarul and 27 Muridava, and will be structured as a corporate acquisition of Sterling's wholly-owned subsidiary Midia Resources SRL. These assets, located in the Romanian Black Sea, contain a number of significant gas discoveries and have net 2C Resources of 51mmboe and net Prospective Resources of 375mmboe[1].
Marcel Van Poecke, Head of Carlyle's international energy team, said: "We are investing in the future of energy for South East Europe. Our team's expertise and resources can help deliver the production capacity and infrastructure needed to ensure the company becomes a significant regional gas producer."
In addition to the initial consideration paid for the acquisition of Midia, Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP) will also fund the future development of the assets, which is expected to constitute a sizable inward investment into Romania. The development project will focus on drilling, infrastructure construction, production and sale of gas to market. The current Midia team will remain in place, with additional resources added to deliver this important project, with the aim of the company becoming a significant regional energy player in the near term.
Capital for this investment will come from CIEP, a $2.5 billion fund that invests in global oil and gas exploration and production, mid- & downstream, oil field services and refining and marketing in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. This acquisition will be the fourth investment by the fund. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of the second quarter of 2015 subject to satisfaction of certain conditions typical for a transaction of this nature, including statutory Romanian approvals and the consent of certain participants in the Romanian concessions.
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For More Information
Carlyle
Catherine Armstrong
+44 (0) 207 894 1632;
[email protected]
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $194 billion of assets under management across 128 funds and 142 fund of funds vehicles as of December 31, 2014. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments - Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions - in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,650 people in 40 offices across six continents.
About Carlyle's Energy Platform
Carlyle has constructed a broad-based energy investing platform (currently with over $10 billion in capital to deploy) offering innovative investment opportunities, including international energy investing in oil & gas exploration & production, mid- & downstream, refining & marketing and oil field services in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia (CIEP), U.S. energy investing (NGP Energy Capital Management where Carlyle owns 55% of management fee-related revenues), project finance (Energy Mezzanine), Power (Cogentrix) and the firm's proven buyout capabilities in transactions such as Philadelphia Energy Solutions and Kinder Morgan. Supporting this is the Carlyle network and capital markets experience.
About CIEP
Established in May 2013, the CIEP team focuses on oil and gas exploration and production mid- & downstream, oil field services and refining and marketing in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. CIEP is led by Marcel van Poecke, a leading international energy investor and operator, and his team is comprised of long-tenured international energy professionals with oil and gas industry investment and operational expertise. It includes Paddy Spink, Senior Advisor to CIEP with 35 years' upstream experience in Africa, Latin America & Europe and Managing Director Joost Dröge, an industry veteran with over 25 years' downstream experience in Europe.
The CIEP team focuses on transactions where it has a distinctive competitive advantage and can create tangible value for companies in which it invests, through industry specialization, deployment of human capital and access to The Carlyle Group's global network. CIEP current investments include: Varo Energy, a Swiss-based refining, storage and distribution business operating in Germany and Switzerland; Discover Exploration, an oil and gas exploration company based in the UK that focuses on Africa, Latin America and Asia; and HES International, a European liquids, dry-bulk storage and handling business. The team operates primarily from offices in London while leveraging The Carlyle Group's local offices to pursue opportunities across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and is reinforced by The Carlyle Group's regional fund teams and global investment professionals.
[1] Page 3 - http://www.sterling-resources.com/docs/2015_CP1.pdf
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