Bahamas Petroleum Company plc (AIM:BPC) reached an agreement to acquire Columbus Energy Resources plc (AIM:CERP) from Schroder Investment Management Limited and others for approximately £24.5 million on June 11, 2020. Under the terms of transaction, each Columbus shareholders will receive 0.803 BPC shares. Approximately a maximum number of 803 million new Bahamas Petroleum Company shares will be issued pursuant to the merger to shareholders which includes termination payments to Columbus executives, plus certain Columbus executives' nil-cost options. Following implementation of the merger, the existing Board and management team of Bahamas Petroleum Company will remain unchanged. The management team consists of Simon Potter as Chief Executive Officer, Eytan Uliel as Chief Commercial Officer, Nathan Rayner as Chief Operating Officer, Benjamin Proffitt as Finance Director and Company Secretary, and David Bond as Drilling Director. Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus will join the BPC Board as a Non-Executive Director and Geoffrey Leid, Managing Director, Trinidad of Columbus will join the BPC executive leadership team. Employment arrangements with Anthony Hawkins, current Chief Executive Officer of Columbus and Gordon Stein, current Chief Financial Officer of Columbus will terminate, albeit both will remain available on short-term consultancy arrangements to assist with transitional matters. Michael Douglas, Non-Executive Director of Columbus will step down from the Columbus Board.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Columbus Shareholders in connection with the Scheme and approval by BPC Shareholders in connection with the allotment of New BPC Shares, approval of the Scheme at the Court Meeting, statutory approval, regulatory approval and third party approval, receiving Heritage Petroleum Company Limited's consent to the change of control with respect to the applicable contracts for the Goudron, Trinity Inniss and South Erin fields and the non-imposition of a change of control payment and receiving no objection from Staatsolie's to the merger with respect to the Weg Naar Zee block in Suriname. Columbus Directors and BPC Directors intend to unanimously recommend that Columbus Shareholders vote in favor of the scheme at the Court Meeting. BPC has also received irrevocable undertakings and a letter of intent to vote in favor of the scheme at the Court meeting and the resolutions to be proposed at the Columbus General Meeting from certain Columbus Shareholders and others amounting to aggregate 339.58 million Columbus Shares, representing 36% of the Columbus Shares. The deal is approved by shareholders of Bahamas Petroleum. As of July 27, 2020, the transaction in court meeting and Columbus general meeting have both been duly passed. The scheme was sanctioned by court on August 5, 2020. The acquisition is expected to become effective in August 2020. As of June 30, 2020, the transaction is expected to complete on August 7, 2020. The scheme was sanctioned by court on August 5, 2020.

Jon Fitzpatrick and Paul Weidman of Gneiss Energy Limited and Rory Murphy, James Spinney and Jack Botros of Strand Hanson Limited acted as financial advisor while Clyde & Co LLP acted as legal advisor for Bahamas Petroleum Company. Andrew Raca, Maciek Szymanski, Pascal Wiese and Andrew Monk of VSA Capital Limited and Roland Cornish and Rosalind Hill Abrahams of Beaumont Cornish Limited acted as financial advisor while Kerman & Co acted as legal advisor for Columbus Energy Resources. Jerry Keen and Toby Gibbs of Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited acted as broker for Bahamas Petroleum Company. Share Registrars Limited acted as registrar to Columbus Energy Resources plc.