Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Chinese gas distributor ENN Group has moved to gain a significant shareholding in Australia’s Santos, acquiring shareholder Hony Capital’s 11.7% share in the oil and gas major in a deal valued at $750-million.
The transaction, announced on Thursday, would result in ENN becoming the largest shareholder in Santos. The acquisition was the Chinese group’s first exposure to the upstream part of the value chain, and was consistent with its strategy to develop into a vertically integrated international natural gas company.
Santos welcomed the investment by ENN, saying the new shareholder brought obvious knowledge of the gas business across the region.
Santos has provided consent to the transfer of Hony Capital’s shares to ENN under the terms of a subscription agreement entered into in 2015.