Don't agree with selling Aje unless they get a great deal. Recent deals would not value Aje at $25m. Most recent deal released to the market was Afren's (through FHN) purchase of 16.7% of Aje for $40m which would price our 5% at about $12m which would be a poor deal.
Sure its moved on and should now be valued more than this but I'd prefer to see them keep it and develop it.
The water Aje is in is not deep, its fairly shallow and can be drilled by a jackup (they may need a newer version jackup than a basic jackup) but nowhere near as expensive as drill ships etc.
They are looking at accessing financing along with their partners to front the cost of development. They have already stated around $14-$15m for JKA's share which I think is quite high and probably includes a significant contingency. Bear in mind they are only planning on drilling 2 wells (in fact one is already drilled).
I would expect them to generate net cash of around $11m for their share per year, and then they will continue to develop. There is still big upside to the block too which is worth sticking around for.
Would support a merger with a similar sized company like APY which I think suits the 2 companies.
JKA Price at posting:
4.1¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
