Alfa, Harbour to Buy Pacific Rubiales in $1.7 Billion Deal

Alfa, Harbour to Buy Pacific Rubiales in $1.7 Billion Deal

by James Paton/Bloomberg
1:36 AM BRT
May 21, 2015

Alfa SAB and Harbour Energy Ltd. agreed to acquire Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. in a deal that values Latin America’s largest non-state oil producer at about C$2.1 billion ($1.7 billion).
The companies agreed to pay C$6.50 a share in cash, Pacific Rubiales said Wednesday. That’s 39 percent more than the Bogota, Colombia-based company’s closing price on May 4, the day before it said it had entered exclusive talks.
Alfa, the Mexican conglomerate, is seeking to expand in oil as its home nation opens production to foreign investment. The company already owns almost 19 percent of Pacific Rubiales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Harbour was formed by Asian commodity trader Noble Group Ltd. and private-equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners LLC, to invest in energy assets worldwide.
The price is 73 percent below Pacific Rubiales’s 2014 high, which was set before crude prices began to tumble. The Colombian company’s shares have fallen 66 percent over the past 12 months as the oil slump led to record losses.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to certain conditions, Pacific Rubiales said.
A group of Venezuelan investors said Tuesday that they may buy additional shares in Pacific Rubiales to block a bid by Alfa and Harbour.