Hurricane in £249m sale

HURRICAnE EnERGY is set to be taken off the London stock market after the oil and gas firm agreed a takeover bid worth around £249m.

Bringing a four-month sales process to an end, Hurricane said its shareholders should back the offer of up to 12.5p per share from Prax.

The energy group’s bid was around 84pc higher than the company’s 6.8p closing price on november 1, when it put itself up for sale.

Hurricane considered its future in november after an ‘unsolicited’ takeover offer of 7.7p a share. Key shareholders such as Crystal Amber and Kerogen, which own a combined 45pc of Hurricane, have offered their support for the deal with London energy group Prax.

It will see Hurricane shareholders paid an £119.8m, or 6p a share, up front. This includes 5.19p in the form of a dividend from the existing cash and additional funds based on a planned lifting next month, with the rest to be paid by Prax.

The remaining £129.1m, or 6.48p a share, will be paid depending on production milestones being hit and potential revenue if Prax builds a UK upstream arm. Shares rose 1.1pc, or 0.08p, to 6.95p.