Unconventional Oil

[Tackler]

Petrobank Energy to acquire Whitesands

2007-05-14 00:24 MT - News Release

Mr. John Wright reports

PETROBANK STRENGTHENS OIL SANDS ASSET BY INCREASING WHITESANDS OWNERSHIP FROM 84% TO 100%

Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. will be acquiring all of the shares of its Whitesands Insitu Ltd. subsidiary currently held by minority shareholders, increasing Petrobank's ownership of Whitesands from 84 per cent to 100 per cent, for $120-million.

Pursuant to the Whitesands unanimous shareholders agreement (USA) the minority shareholders had the right, annually, to request a valuation of Whitesands, and to exchange their ownership position. This exchange right was exercised on May 11, 2007. Petrobank has the option to finance the acquisition with cash or through a combination of cash and the issuance of common shares in Petrobank. In the event Petrobank chooses to issue the minority shareholders common shares to finance all or part of the acquisition, the issue price will be set at $22.496 per share, pursuant to the terms of the United States. The $250-million (U.S.) of Petrobank convertible bonds issued on May 4, 2007, provides the flexibility to finance up to the entire acquisition price with cash. The transaction is expected to close on or about June 11, 2007. The minority shareholder has also indicated that it is reserving all rights to challenge the valuation amount.

By owning 100 per cent of the Whitesands assets and the THAI and CAPRI technologies, the company will be able to enhance its flexibility to efficiently move forward with its development plans for the Whitesands oil sands leases and the commercialization of the THAI technology on a global basis.

Nice spin!