Yemisi Izuora/Agency Report
Mart Resources Inc. shares fell 29 percent to 20.5 cents Tuesday after the company said Midwestern Oil and Gas Co. Ltd. is unable to complete a financing that would have enabled it to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Mart for 80 cents per share.
At current levels, Mart has a market cap of $73.2 million, based on 356.9 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $1.44 and 24.5 cents.
In a status update, Mart said it and Midwestern are continuing discussions regarding an alternative transaction at a lower price.
However, there is no certainty that discussions with Midwestern will result in an alternative transaction, Mart said in a press release.
Mart Resources is an international oil and gas company with a focus on production and development opportunities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Midwestern is one of Mart’s joint venture partners in the Umusadege field in Nigeria, which has produced over 10 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil since production commenced in 2008. The other partner is Suntrust Oil. Midwestern Oil and Gas is the project operator.
Under the deal, Midwestern had agreed to assume all of Mart’s bank debt, which stood at US$200 million when the transaction was announced back in March 2015.
At that time, Mart said Midwestern had indicated that its ability to complete the proposed transaction is subject to its ability to complete a private placement financing.
However, if that financing condition was not met, Mart had previously said Midwestern will be required to pay a reverse break fee of $5.8 million to Mart.
