Reference is made to the article titled “Reach to buy remaining 40% in Emir-Oil Concession” which appeared in the Business News, The Star Online on 27 August 2019 (“the Article”), and to the Company’s announcements on 28 August 2019 and 29 August 2019.

Having made due and appropriate inquiries, the Board has identified certain statements contained in the Article which are untrue and/or unfounded.

Alleged acquisition of MIE Holdings Corporation’s 40% interest in Palaeontol B.V.

Whilst the Company is continuously exploring investment prospects, including potential corporate and asset acquisitions, the Board denies that, as at the date of this announcement, the Company has entered into any arrangements or negotiations with MIE Holdings Corporation (“MIE”) for the acquisition of MIE’s 40% interest in Palaeontol B.V. (“PBV”) which holds, via Emir-Oil LLP (“Emir-Oil”), the entire working interest in an approximately 850.3 square kilometres onshore contracted area located in the Mangystau Oblast in the southwestern region of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the “Emir-Oil Asset”).

Furthermore, the Company has not received any offer from MIE for any such acquisition of MIE’s interest in PBV, nor has any offer been made to MIE to acquire the same.

Untrue statement that funding of up to US$110million has been secured from a PE Fund 

The Article also alleges that the Company has secured funding of up to US$110 million from a private equity fund.   

The Board wishes to clarify that whilst the Company is actively exploring funding and financing options to facilitate the administration of its investment portfolio and managing its debt obligations, to-date no financing facility or arrangement with any private equity fund has been secured by the Company or otherwise approved by the Board.

Clarification on other statements in the Article

The Board wishes to further clarify the following statements:

1. Original Acquisition Price: The Article reported that the Company had paid US$154.9 million (RM651million) or US$3.28 per barrel for its original 60% stake in PBV in 2016. The Board wishes to clarify that US$154.9 million was the purchase price prior to adjustments pursuant to the terms of the conditional sale and purchase agreement entered into between the Company and MIE. As was disclosed in page 17 of our Circular to Shareholders dated 13 October 2016, the final adjusted purchase consideration for the Company’s acquisition of its 60% interest in PBV and the Emir-Oil Asset in 2016 was US$175.9 million.
2. Payment to Dissenting Shareholders: The Article reported that the Company had paid US$175.9 million to dissenting shareholders who had voted against the Company’s acquisition of the 60% stake in PBV. The Board wishes to clarify that in accordance with Paragraph 6.25 of the applicable Securities Commission’s Equity Guidelines, dissenting shareholders were entitled to receive, in exchange for their securities, a sum equivalent to a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the trust account (net of any taxes payable and expenses related to the facilitation of the exchange), provided that the qualifying acquisition is approved and completed within the permitted time frame. The basis of computation for this was set out at Section 5.1.3 of our Prospectus dated 24 July 2014. The total amount repaid to dissenting shareholders following the completion of the qualifying acquisition exercise was RM 138,050,739.

Save as clarified above, the remainder of the Article contains statements which are either historical or emphatically speculative, and as such the Board is of the view that no response is warranted in respect of the same.

The Board reiterates that it is cognisant of the need for proper dissemination of information to the public and will continue to release the appropriate announcement(s) on Bursa Securities on a timely basis as required by the Main Market Listing Requirements of the Bursa Securities.

In addition, the Board will continue to monitor rumours, reports or inaccurate information affecting the Company. 

This announcement is dated 4 September 2019.