Repsol acquires Canada’s Talisman Energy

Repsol has agreed with Talisman energy to acquire 100% of the shares of the Canadian company for US$8.3 billion (EU6.64 billion), plus assumed debt of US$4.7 billion. The transaction has been approved and recommended by the Board of Directors of the Canadian company.

The offer for Talisman represents US$8 (EU6.4) per share, representing a 24% premium over the average share price of the last three months. Talisman’s shares closed at US$4.29 in New York on Friday, December 12.

The acquisition, which will be financed mainly with Repsol’s cash reserves, marks the culmination of the transformation process that followed the successful recovery of value from YPF following its expropriation (US$6.3 billion).

The deal will transform Repsol into one of the world’s largest privately-owned energy groups, with increased presence in OECD countries, incorporating reserves and production in politically stable countries. Additionally, it will add a significant exploration portfolio and high-quality productive assets in North America (Canada and U.S.), South-East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam) as well as Colombia and Norway, amongst others.

Once the transaction is complete, North America’s weight in the resulting company will increase to almost 50% of capital employed in exploration. Latin America will represent 22%.

The incorporation of Talisman will increase the output of the Repsol Group by 76% to 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and will boost reserves by 55% to 2,353 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The resulting group will be present in more than 50 countries with over 27,000 employees.

Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau said:

“This is a transformative and exciting deal which will make us one of the world’s most significant players and which will allow us to grow as a company and reinforce Repsol as a solid and competitive integrated player.”

“Talisman is an excellent company which will add its experience and proven track record in production assets that will add to that of Repsol in deep water exploration. This will significantly boost joint development.”

The deal will improve Repsol´s competitiveness, increase and balance its exploration portfolio, reinforce the Upstream business unit and provide a strong growth platform.