From the rumour mill somewhere on a desert highway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai: When Heritage announced yesterday that it was indeed in preliminary merger and acquisition discussions, oil industry folks began to speculate who the suitor could be.
One clue was in the statement, which noted any deal would be seen as a reverse takeover under rules of the UK, where Heritage is listed. A subsequent statement said the company concerned was “not subject to the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers”.
That prompted one banker, stuck on the outside of any deal looking in, to suggest an un-listed company was the dance partner.
A separate industry insider, also not involved and a continent away from the banker and the deal, said that he would bet on Perenco being the one. That would allow Heritage to grow and Perenco to become listed and would also most likely lead to a rights issue.
However the enlarged company’s assets would span the globe from Peru to Uganda to Iraq, so the synergies weren’t immediately clear. And then there remained the delicate challenge of working out which of the two pioneering companies’ leaders would be left sitting in the chief executive’s chair once the music stopped.
Related story:
Heritage Oil in reverse takeover talks (FT, 03/06/09)
