UK North Sea firm Ithaca Energy presses ahead with London listing

LONDON: North Sea oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy said on Tuesday it was going ahead with its plans to list in London and was seeking admission of its ordinary shares to the premium segment of the official list of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Ithaca, which produced about 66,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the first half of the year, is targeting a free float of at least 10 per cent of its issued share capital and expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices.

The company, owned by Tel Aviv-listed Delek Group , could be valued at $2 billion-$3 billion in the upcoming listing and raise proceeds of between $300 million-$500 million, Reuters previously reported.

Ithaca's float defies a sharp decline in equity capital market deals this year, with Porsche's listing in September ranking as the only notable initial public offering (IPO) in 2022 as proceeds from ECM deals in Europe dropped 82 per cent to $8 billion in the third quarter of the year.

The deal comes at a time of renewed interest in the North Sea region due to the energy crisis, with Britain recently launching its first oil and gas exploration licensing round since 2019 in an effort to boost domestic production.

The British North Sea, home to the global Brent benchmark grade, is an aging basin where oil and gas production has fallen from a 1999 peak of around 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (boed) each year to around 1.5 million boed.

Ithaca owns a 70 per cent stake in the Cambo development in the North Sea, with Shell seeking to sell its 30 per cent stake, which has been at the centre of protests by climate activists in recent years.

Ithaca said that up to a further 15 per cent of the total number of ordinary shares being sold in the offer would be made available as part of an overallotment option.

Proceeds of the share sale will be used to pay down the company's debt, with owner Delek looking to cut its stake while remaining a controlling shareholder.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are joint global co-ordinators on the deal while HSBC, Jefferies and Bank of America are joint bookrunners, with ING acting as co-lead manager.