Strike Energy axes buyout of Talon and its Mongolian assets
Gas junior producer Strike Energy has officially walked away from an offer to buy out rival gas minnow Talon Energy and its stake in a Mongolian gas venture.
Strike, chaired by Perth identity John Poynton, lobbed a take-it-or-leave-it offer at the Talon board last week. But Strike retreated on Sunday after Talon said it had appointed advisers and would respond in a week, Talon said on Tuesday, following a report in The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk.
On the table was 20¢ plus a spin-out of Talon’s 33 per cent interest in Mongolian coal seam gas project Gurvantes. Another listed gas exploration group, TMK Energy, owns the remaining 67 per cent of Gurvantes.
Street Talk reported Talon investors are unhappy with the board, which they claim has failed to engage with Strike Energy over the proposal, which would also consolidate the Walyering gas field development where they are joint venture partners.
Strike lobbed a ‘take it or leave it’ offer at the Talon board last week but walked away on Sunday AFR
Walyering, located in the Perth Basin, is 45 per cent owned by Talon and 55 per cent controlled by Strike, which is the operator.
Talon told the market Strike’s unsolicited proposal was subject to a number of conditions including exclusivity and a deadline to respond no later than midday, Perth time, on Sunday, July 23.
Talon responded on Sunday morning that it intended to evaluate the offer.
“It also advised that it expected to be in a position to respond to Strike’s request for due diligence access in approximately one week,” Talon told the market. “Shortly thereafter, Strike wrote to Talon advising that it had withdrawn the unsolicited proposal with immediate effect.”
Shares in Strike dropped 2.3 per cent to 42¢.
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