Glencore Xstrata: Caracal purchased for $1.35bn

Glencore Xstrata had agreed to buy Caracal Energy for about $1.35 billion (R14bn) to take control of oil and gas assets in the central African nation of Chad, the global commodities trading and mining group said yesterday. The offer of £5.50 (R97) a share was a 61 percent premium to the closing price of Caracal shares on Friday, Swiss-based Glencore Xstrata said. Caracal shares surged as much as 60 percent in London trading to £5.47, the highest on record. Glencore Xstrata has been seeking to grow its energy production business, which also includes fields in Equatorial Guinea. The bid means Caracal will terminate an earlier agreement to combine with Calgary-based TransGlobe Energy, according to the statement. Glencore Xstrata acquired a 33.3 percent interest in three oil fields and a 25 percent stake in two other fields in Chad from Caracal in 2012 for a total of $331 million. The trader had export marketing rights for 90 percent of Chad’s oil under a financing deal, it said in September last year. – Bloomberg