CALGARY, Sept. 16, 2013 /CNW/ - (TSXV:TOL) TriOil Resources Ltd. ("TriOil" or the "Company") is pleased to announce
that it has entered into an agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement")
with ORLEN Upstream s.p. z o.o. ("ORLEN Upstream") pursuant to which
ORLEN Upstream, through a wholly owned subsidiary ORLEN Upstream
International B.V. registered in the Netherlands ("ORLEN Upstream
International"), has agreed to purchase all of the issued and
outstanding class A common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares")
at a cash price of C$2.85 per Common Share for total cash consideration of $183.7 million. The
transaction is to be completed by way of a plan of arrangement under
the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) (the "Arrangement"). The consideration offered for the Common
Shares pursuant to the Arrangement represents a 31% premium over the 10 day weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX
Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") up to July 2, 2013, the trading day
before TriOil announced that it had entered into exclusive negotiations
with another party in connection with its previously announced
strategic alternatives process.
The outstanding debt of TriOil as at June 30, 2013, including the
working capital deficit, was $56.4 million resulting in a total
transaction value, or enterprise value of TriOil, of approximately
$240.1 million (assuming the exercise of all in-the-money options of
TriOil).
ORLEN Upstream is a 100% subsidiary of PKN ORLEN S.A. ("PKN ORLEN"), one
of the largest petroleum and petrochemical corporations in Central and
Eastern Europe and the largest in Poland. PKN ORLEN operates 3
petrochemical plants, 7 refineries with the total processing capacity
approximately 600 thousand barrels per day and a retail gas station
network comprising approximately 2,700 outlets offering services in
Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. As at and for the
year ended December 31, 2012, PKN ORLEN reported consolidated revenue
of approximately C$38.5 billion and consolidated assets of
approximately C$16.9 billion. PKN Orlen is one of the blue chip stocks
traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and its market capitalization as of September 13, 2013 was approximately
C$6 billion.
ORLEN Upstream was established to implement PKN ORLEN's strategy
regarding exploration and production of hydrocarbons. ORLEN Upstream
also holds licences for onshore oil and gas exploration throughout
Poland and interests in offshore licences at the Latvian shelf of the
Baltic Sea.
THE ARRANGEMENT AGREEMENT
The Arrangement is subject to customary conditions for a transaction of
this nature, which include court approvals, the approval of 66 2/3% of
TriOil shareholders represented in person or by proxy at a special
meeting of TriOil shareholders to be called to consider the Arrangement
and if required by Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions "majority of the minority" approval after excluding the votes cast in
respect of Common Shares held by certain directors and officers of the
Company.
An information circular regarding the Arrangement is expected to be
mailed to TriOil shareholders in October 2013 for a special meeting of
the holders of Common Shares scheduled to take place in November with
closing expected to occur prior to the end of November 2013.
The Arrangement Agreement includes customary non-solicitation covenants
by TriOil and provides TriOil with the ability to respond to
unsolicited proposals considered superior to the Arrangement in
accordance with the terms of the Arrangement Agreement. In the event a
superior proposal is accepted, TriOil will be required to pay a
termination fee of C$8 million to ORLEN Upstream International.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors of TriOil, after consulting with its financial
and legal advisors, has unanimously approved the Arrangement and
unanimously determined that the transaction is in the best interests of
TriOil and is fair to TriOil shareholders. Peters & Co. Limited
provided an opinion that, subject to the assumptions, limitations and
qualifications set forth therein, the consideration to be received by
the holders of Common Shares under the Arrangement is fair, from a
financial point of view, to such holders. The Board of Directors of
TriOil unanimously recommends that all TriOil shareholders vote in
favour of the Arrangement at the shareholders' meetings to be called to
consider the Arrangement.
All directors and officers of TriOil intend to vote their respective
Common Shares in favour of the Arrangement, and have entered into
lock-up agreements with ORLEN Upstream pursuant to which they have
agreed to, among other things, vote their Common Shares in favour of
the Arrangement.
ADVISORS
Peters & Co. Limited is acting as a financial advisor to the Special
Committee of the Board of Directors of TriOil in the transaction. GMP
Securities L.P. and Dundee Securities Ltd. are acting as financial
advisors to the Board of Directors of TriOil. A copy of the fairness
opinion will be included in the information circular to be sent to
TriOil shareholders for the special meeting to be called to consider
the Arrangement.
TriOil trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "TOL". As of
September 13, 2013, there are approximately 64.0 million shares issued
and outstanding (70.1 million fully diluted).
TriOil is a Calgary, Alberta based company engaged in the exploration,
development and production of petroleum and natural gas.
Advisory
Forward-looking Statements - This press release contains forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities
laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue",
"estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should",
"believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements or information. More particularly
and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking
statements and information concerning: the anticipated benefits of the
Arrangement to TriOil and its shareholders, the timing and anticipated
receipt of required regulatory, court, and shareholder approvals for
the Arrangement; the ability of TriOil and ORLEN Upstream to satisfy
the other conditions to, and to complete, the Arrangement; and the
anticipated timing of the mailing of the information circular regarding
the Arrangement and the closing of the Arrangement.
In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning
the anticipated completion of the proposed Arrangement and the
anticipated timing for completion of the Arrangement, TriOil has
provided such in reliance on certain assumptions that it believes are
reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the time required
to prepare and mail TriOil shareholder meeting materials, including the
required information circular; the ability of the parties to receive,
in a timely manner, the necessary regulatory, court, shareholder and
other third party approvals and the ability of the parties to satisfy,
in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the
Arrangement. These dates may change for a number of reasons, including
unforeseen delays in preparing meeting materials, inability to secure
necessary shareholder, regulatory, court or other third party approvals
in the time assumed or the need for additional time to satisfy the
other conditions to the completion of the Arrangement. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements and information contained in this press release concerning
these times.
Risks and uncertainties inherent in the nature of the Arrangement
include the failure of TriOil or ORLEN Upstream to obtain necessary
securityholder, regulatory, court and other third party approvals, or
to otherwise satisfy the conditions to the Arrangement, in a timely
manner, or at all. Failure to so obtain such approvals, or the failure
of TriOil or ORLEN Upstream to otherwise satisfy the conditions to the
Arrangement, may result in the Arrangement not being completed on the
proposed terms, or at all. In addition, the failure of TriOil to comply
with certain terms of the Arrangement Agreement may result in TriOil
being required to pay a non-completion fee to ORLEN Upstream
International, the result of which could have a material adverse effect
on TriOil's financial position and results of operations and its
ability to fund growth prospects and current operations.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive. Additional information on other factors that could affect
the operations or financial results of TriOil are included in reports
on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities, including
but not limited to; TriOil's Annual Information Form for the year ended
December 31, 2012 which may be accessed on TriOil's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
The forward-looking statements and information contained in this press
release are made as of the date hereof and TriOil undertake no
obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements
or information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
Currency - All amounts in this press release are expressed in Canadian dollars
("C$"). PKN ORLEN's 2012 revenue and assets have been converted from
Polish zloty based on the exchange rate of C$0.32 for every 1 Polish
zloty in effect as at December 31, 2012. PKN ORLEN's market
capitalization has been converted from Polish zloty based on the
exchange rate of C$0.33 for every 1 Polish zloty in effect on September
13, 2013.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any
sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities issued pursuant
to the Arrangement described herein have not been and will not be
registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not
be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions exempt
from such registration.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange not its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press
release.
SOURCE TriOil Resources Ltd.
Russell J. Tripp, President & CEO, TriOil Resources Ltd.; Cheryne Lowe, VP Finance & CFO, TriOil Resources Ltd.; Andrew Wiacek, VP Exploration, TriOil Resources Ltd.; Corporate Phone: (403) 265-4115