Ithaca Energy will make IPO in London after major deals

Ithaca Energy will make its IPO in London “as soon as possible” this year, according to parent firm Delek Group.

The North Sea operator is growing to be one of the largest in the UK, following high-profile deals for Marubeni, Summit Exploration and Siccar Point Energy which owns the Cambo oil field.

Releasing its firstquarter accounts, Israel’s Delek Group said Ithaca “intends to merge the operations of the acquired company (Siccar Point) and to continue to develop the acquired assets as part of its preparation towards an IPO in 2022”.

Delek said: “Our clear goal is to continue to maintain the positive momentum in the group’s operations, and as soon as possible to carry out Ithaca’s IPO in London.”

Estimates have not yet been given on the firm’s targeted market valuation.

However, it pointed to estimated EBITDAX (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortisation, and Exploration Expense) for Ithaca of approximately $2 billion in 2022, subject to the Siccar Point deal.

Speaking to Energy Voice last month, Ithaca chairman Gilad Myerson confirmed an IPO “is on the agenda and we’ll do it when the time

is appropriate”. He said that Ithaca has been keeping an eye on contemporaries Var Energi in Oslo and Harbour Energy (formerly Chrysaor), which made its IPO last year in London.

Harbour acquired assets from Shell and ConocoPhillips in highprofile deals, as well as a reverse takeover of Premier Oil.

Along with the aforementioned recent deals, Ithaca made a big noise in 2019 when it completed a $2bn acquisition of Chevron’s North Sea business.

Harbour Energy (LON: HBR) has a market capitalisation of nearly £4bn on the London Stock Exchange.

In February, Alex Msimang, energy transaction and project partner at Vinson & Elkins, predicted an uptick in public listings in 2022 as the energy sector enjoys higher oil and gas prices.

Gilad Myerson.