Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO, has announced the terms of an offer for the whole of the issued and to-be issued share capital of London-listed Faroe Petroleum, other than the 28.22 per cent of the company already bought by DNO in April this year.

DNO’s largest shareholder is UAE-based RAK Petroleum, which is also listed on the Oslo stock exchange.

The offer will be 152 pence sterling in cash for each Faroe Share, valuing Faroe's existing issued and to-be issued share capital at approximately £607.9 million ($778.5 million), said a statement from DNO.

The offer values Faroe, excluding the shares already held by DNO, but including outstanding share options and awards to Faroe directors and employees, at approximately £443.8 million.

The Offer Price represents a premium of 44.8 per cent to Faroe's share price of 105 pence at the close of business on April 3, the last business day before DNO announced its first acquisition of shares in Faroe and a premium of 20.8 per cent to Faroe's share price of 125.8 pence at the close of business on November 23, the last business day before today’s announcement, it stated.

Commenting on the offer, Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, the executive chairman of DNO and of RAK Petroleum, said: "We firmly believe that Faroe's assets, the substantial part of which are Norwegian, are better placed in the bosom of DNO, Norway's oldest independent oil and gas company, currently operating gross production of 125,000 barrels per day which compares with the 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day of gross production operated by Faroe."

"DNO's proven and probable reserves were nearly four times those of Faroe's as reported at 31 December 2017," he added.-TradeArabia News Service