Drillsearch play for Ambassador may kickstart consolidation in...

Drillsearch play for Ambassador may kickstart consolidation in Cooper Basin.

Matt Chambers - The Australian
A long awaited consolidation of oil and gas ground in central Australia’s Cooper Basin may have been kickstarted with Drillsearch Energy’s friendly $41 million scrip bid for its neighbour, Ambassador Oil & Gas.

The deal, which will secure Drillsearch both neighbouring acreage to its conventional drilling plans targeting liquids-rich gas and more exposure to unconventional exploration, comes after many analysts and bankers tipped a boom year for takeovers in the mainly South Australian basin that extends into Queensland.

The move follows Drillsearch’s $118m takeover of Acer Energy at the end of 2012 and Beach Energy’s takeover of Adelaide Energy and Impress Energy in 2011 and 2012.

But so far the bigger players, like Drillsearch, Senex and Beach, have not fielded firm bids.

Beach’s emergence with a 4.9 per cent stake in Drillsearch last year has put the latter in the mix as a potential target as well as acquirer. Drillsearch chief Brad Lingo said he expected consolidation to continue.

“There isn’t a lot of quality acreage around so you’re either going to have to buy it or buy companies to get into it,” Mr Lingo said.

“The logic is compelling for consolidation to occur, it’s a question of ultimately trying to figure who’s chasing who.”

As well as its stake in Drillsearch, Beach last year took an 18.4 per cent stake in Cooper Energy, but so far there has been no Beach bid for either company.

In a bid supported by the Ambassador board, Drillsearch is offering one of its shares for every 5.4 Ambassador shares. Based on closing share prices on Tuesday, before the bid was made, it valued Ambassador shares at 29.3c, or a 22 per premium to Ambassador’s last-traded share price.

The bid is at about a 50 per cent premium to Friday’s closing price and the volume weighted average price over the past three months.

Drillsearch looks set to achieve its condition of getting acceptances from the holders of 50.1 per cent of Ambassador’s shares. It has acquired a 19.9 per cent stake and has pledges from holders of another 17.6 per cent of the shares saying they will accept the offer in the absence of a better one.

Yesterday, Drillsearch shares fell 0.5c to $1.575, regaining ground lost earlier in the day. Ambassador shares rose 4.5c, or 19 per cent, to 28.5c.