Elumelu’s Heirs Energies acquires 6 million Seplat Energy shares in £53.2m deal

Heirs Energies Ltd, a company controlled by Tony Elumelu, has acquired 6 million ordinary shares in Seplat Energy Plc, valued at £53.2 million.

Seplat Energy disclosed the new share purchase in a regulatory filing signed by Edith Onwuchekwa, the company’s Director, Legal/Company Secretary, on Thursday.

Seplat is listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market and on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Mr Elumelu, also a Non-Executive Director at Seplat Energy, purchased 6,000,000 shares at £8.87 per share, which is about one per cent of the company’s outstanding shares.

Following the transaction, Heirs Energies Limited now holds 27,943,867 shares in the energy company, representing 4.67 per cent, while the entities controlled by Mr Elumelu (Heirs Energies Limited and Heirs Holdings Limited) now hold a combined 126,400,000 shares.

The total shares held by Mr Elumelu in the company equate to a voting interest of 21.07 per cent based on the company’s issued shares of 599,944,561.

Last year, Heirs Energies acquired the entire 20.07 per cent equity stake (120.4 million ordinary shares) previously held by Maurel & Prom S.A. in Seplat Energy, valuing the transaction at approximately $500 million.

Seplat Energy, on 14 January, in a regulatory filing, later provided clarification on the transactions, noting that the 20.07 per cent interest is held by two ultimate controlling entities – Heirs Energies Limited (3.658 per cent) and Heirs Holdings Limited (16.412 per cent).

In case of proxy voting, Seplat Energy said Samuel Nwanze will serve as the proxy holder for Heirs Energies’ 3.658 per cent stake and will hold the voting rights indefinitely “until notified otherwise.”

Emmanuel Nnorom, the proxy holder for Heirs Holdings’ 16.412 per cent stake, also holds the rights indefinitely “until notified otherwise.”

Heirs Energies operates Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 in the Niger Delta, with a daily output of 50,000 barrels of oil and 120 million cubic feet of gas.

READ ALSO: More details of Heirs Energies’ huge stake in Seplat emerge

The company said the reserves base of OML 17 stands at more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, adding that it provides fuel for over 400 megawatts of electricity generation in the country.

Seplat Energy Plc is a Nigerian independent energy company focused on oil and gas exploration, production, and gas processing, primarily in the Niger Delta.