Reuters: Deals: Bangladesh says ConocoPhillips seeking more gas blocks

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Bangladesh says ConocoPhillips seeking more gas blocks Apr 8th 2012, 11:16 DHAKA | Sun Apr 8, 2012 7:16am EDT DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh says U.S. energy firm ConocoPhillips (COP.N) is seeking to expand operations in the Bay of Bengal following a U.N. tribunal border ruling which cleared the way for more offshore oil and gas exploration in the region. A senior energy official said on Sunday the U.S. company sought exploration rights in six new deep-water gas blocks in the Bay after a tribunal ruled last month in favor of Bangladesh in a decades-old maritime border dispute with Myanmar. "The U.S. firm has expressed its willingness to get more blocks to explore oil and gas in the deep sea," said Muhammad Hussain Monsur, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation known as Petrobangla. ConocoPhillips made no comment. ConocoPhillips, which was awarded two deep-sea blocks by Bangladesh four years ago to explore oil and gas, has already completed seismic surveys in those blocks and is hoping to proceed with exploration work soon. Neighboring Myanmar had previously protested against Bangladesh awarding the offshore blocks to explore gas and oil, claiming they overlapped Yangon's territorial waters. "ConocoPhillips is now able to operate within the full area of DS-08-11 block as the maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar has been ended," Monsur said. ConocoPhillips pledged to invest $110.66 million and offered a bank guarantee of the same amount for its two approved deep-water offshore blocks.

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Reuters: Deals: Zimbabwe happy with Amplats ownership plan: Minister

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Zimbabwe happy with Amplats ownership plan: Minister Apr 8th 2012, 09:26 By Nelson Banya HARARE | Sun Apr 8, 2012 5:26am EDT HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is happy with a plan proposed by Anglo American Platinum (AMSJ.J), the world's top producer of the precious metal, to sell a 51 percent shareholding in its Unki project to locals in terms of the country's empowerment law, a minister said on Sunday. President Robert Mugabe is championing the law, which requires all foreign firms, including mines and banks, to sell majority stakes to Zimbabweans. Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, a Mugabe ally, wrote in the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper that Amplats had submitted its proposals, detailing how it sought to comply with the law. "As implementers, the latest plan by Anglo Platinum Unki, is reflective of the positive co-operation we are now enjoying," Kasukuwere wrote. "We are happy with the 51 percent plan presented by July Ndlovu, the Unki chairman." On Thursday, Kasukuwere increased pressure on miners when he issued a statement declaring that the state now owned 51 percent of firms that had not complied with the local ownership laws. His statement was, however, quickly contradicted by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's partner in a shaky coalition, who said the minister had no power to expropriate mines. The empowerment crusade is widely seen as a tactic by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party to raise cash for elections that may come this year. In his letter, Kasukuwere, a senior ZANU-PF official, also sought to highlight his party's difference with Tsvangirai's MDC over the empowerment policy. Johannesburg-listed Impala Platinum (IMPJ.J), the world's second-biggest platinum producer, bowed to pressure last month to surrender half its Zimplats (ZIM.AX) unit, although details of the transfer have not yet been worked out. (Reporting by Nelson Banya, editing by Sherilee Lakmidas and Ron Popeski) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Deals: Clal Insurance plans to sell U.S. unit for $218 million

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Clal Insurance plans to sell U.S. unit for $218 million Apr 8th 2012, 08:28 TEL AVIV | Sun Apr 8, 2012 4:28am EDT TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings (CLIS.TA) said on Sunday it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell its subsidiary Clal U.S. Holdings Inc for $218 million. Clal, a subsidiary of the IDB Holding (IDBH.TA) group, did not name the buyer. Clal U.S. Holdings owns U.S. insurer Guard Financial Group, which has shareholders' equity of $217 million, Clal said in a statement. It bought Guard five years ago for $120 million. The two sides set a deadline of 45 days to complete due diligence and sign a detailed agreement, though Clal said there was no guarantee a deal would be reached. Last year Clal, one of Israel's top two insurers, sold Lloyd's of London LOL.UL insurer Broadgate Underwriting to Torus Insurance Holdings of Bermuda.

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Reuters: Deals: Abu Dhabi sells small Tesla Motors stake

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Abu Dhabi sells small Tesla Motors stake Apr 8th 2012, 07:26 Sun Apr 8, 2012 3:26am EDT DUBAI, April 8 - Abu Dhabi National Energy Co TAQA.AD (TAQA) sold its 7-percent stake in electric carmarker Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) on the stock market, booking a profit of $113 million, the state-owned energy and utility firm said on Sunday. TAQA, which is 75-percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, did not disclose how much it received for the shares. "We sold all 7,297,139 shares that we held after these were transferred to us from Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority in December 2010. This represents roughly 7 percent of all Tesla Motor shares," said TAQA spokesman Allan Virtanen. Leading global automakers Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and Toyota Motor Co (7203.T) are investors in Tesla, which is yet to report a quarterly profit. Abu Dhabi is the top shareholder in Daimler through its sovereign wealth fund Aabar Investments. Tesla expects to turn profitable in 2013 and sees 2012 annual revenues nearly tripling, spurred by deliveries of its premium electric sedan, the Model S, which begin in July, it said in February. In a separate statement, TAQA said it bought a 50 percent interest in a Kurdistan power plant, which has been operating since 2009. The power plant has a capacity of 750 megawatts, with an additional 250 megawatts under construction, TAQA said. The company signed a joint venture agreement with Mass Global Investments Co Ltd for the purchase, it said. "There is a 15 year take or pay agreement (750 MW) in place with the Ministry of Electricity, Kurdistan Region. The facility receives gas from an underground pipeline connecting the Khor Mor gas field to the plant," said Virtanen. Abu Dhabi-listed TAQA, which invests in oil and gas overseas, also runs power plants in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, India and the United States and plans to start oil and gas operations in north Africa. TAQA is a major shareholder in the Netherlands' Bergermeer gas storage facility with capacity of 4.1 billion cubic meters, and is also involved in an offshore gas production project in the Dutch North Sea. (Reporting by Dinesh Nair; Editing by Sitaraman Shankar) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Deals: Apollo ups Great Wolf offer to outbid rival

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Apollo ups Great Wolf offer to outbid rival Apr 8th 2012, 01:17 By Greg Roumeliotis NEW YORK | Sat Apr 7, 2012 9:17pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equtiy firm Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) raised its cash offer to buy Great Wolf Resorts Inc (WOLF.O) by 35 percent to $225.7 million, outbidding a rival for North America's largest operator of indoor water parks. Great Wolf said in a statement late on Friday it had agreed to amend its previous agreement with Apollo after the private equity firm, headed by billionaire Leon Black, raised its offer to $6.75 per share in cash from $5. The new deal came after private equity group KSL Capital Partners LLC, which focuses on travel and leisure businesses, offered to buy Great Wolf for $6.25 a share in cash on Wednesday in a hostile bid. Great Wolf's popularity as a drive-to family vacation has shielded it from slow economic growth and relatively weak consumer confidence, making it hot property in the eyes of buyout firms looking for assets with strong cash flows. In 2011, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization close to doubled year-on-year to $83 million. As part of the new deal, Great Wolf said it agreed to increase the termination fee and expense reimbursement payable to Apollo from a total of up to $7 million to a total of up to $9 million. Apollo's revised tender offer runs till midnight on April 20. As of April 5, 1.5 million Great Wolf shares had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn, the company said. It has 33.43 million shares outstanding, according to Thomson Reuters data. Great Wolf has been trying to convince its shareholders not to hold out for a better deal, arguing it had been looking at strategic alternatives for more than nine months before the deal with Apollo, reaching out to 38 prospective bidders. Its shares last traded at $6.58. The first Great Wolf Lodge resort opened in 1997 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and the company now operates 11 properties throughout North America. (Reporting By Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Nick Macfie) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Deals: Romania backs out of deal to sell copper mine

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Romania backs out of deal to sell copper mine Apr 7th 2012, 11:11 By Radu Marinas BUCHAREST | Sat Apr 7, 2012 7:11am EDT BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania has backed out of a deal to sell its biggest copper mine to Canada's Roman Copper Corp, its economy minister said on Saturday, further delaying the country's long-awaited privatization program. Roman Copper won a tender to buy the Cupru Min Abrud mine for 200.8 million euros last month, outbidding Australia's OZ Minerals Ltd (OZL.AX), Dutch Dundee Holding, and Bulgaria's Ellatzite Med Ad. But Economy Minister Lucian Bode said the two sides could not conclude talks on the terms of the deal. "The state did not want to give up three conditions," Bode was quoted as saying by state news agency Agerpres. "We will relaunch the tender but we will keep the same conditions." Bode said under those conditions all privatization contracts had to me made public, payment had to be settled within 30 days and the company had to set up a collateral deposit of 32.27 million euros as a guarantee for environment investment. "We were surprised that the negotiating committee refused to accept our written signature," said Mike Curtis, partner at Bay Front Capital Partners, the Toronto-based merchant bank that owns Roman Copper. Cuprum Min has estimated reserves of 900,000 metric tonnes of copper, or about 60 percent of the European Union state's estimated copper reserves. Former communist countries across the emerging European Union have sold state holdings, but Romania's persistent failure to do so has left a huge, inefficient state sector in the bloc's second-poorest economy. Earlier this week, a Romanian court annulled a zoning plan in a decision that may further delay a Canadian project to set up Europe's largest open-cast gold mine in the Carpathian town of Rosita Montana - near Cuprum Min's Rosia Poieni mining area. Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, majority-owned by Canada's Gabriel Resources Ltd (GBU.TO), aims to use cyanide to extract 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver. Its project has dragged on for 14 years and still needs an environmental permit. Bucharest agreed to an ambitious program of selloffs under a 5 billion euro International Monetary Fund-led deal struck in 2011 but flunked a major test last year, failing to sell a minority stake in its top oil and gas group Petrom ROSNP.BX. (Editing by Karolina Tagaris) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Deals: Swiss Life CEO says M&A tough at moment: paper

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Swiss Life CEO says M&A tough at moment: paper Apr 7th 2012, 06:58 Group Chief Executive Officer (Group CEO) Bruno Pfister of insurer Swiss Life gestures as he addresses a news conference in Zurich February 29, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann

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