Shares in OMV’s $1.3bn debt-cutting rights issue likely to be fully subscribed
AUSTRIAN oil group OMV has had orders for all the shares on offer in its rights issue of up to $1.3bn (£1.2bn), two sources said yesterday.
The issue of up to 27.3m new shares, on a subscription ratio of one for every 11 held, was part of OMV’s efforts to cut debt after two major acquisitions.
The capital increase of around nine per cent will be priced at yesterday’s market closing price, with a maximum set at €33.
OMV stock closed at €27.68 yesterday, meaning the issue would raise nearly €756m.
OMV’s shares have fallen around 6.5 per cent since close of trading on the day the refinancing plan, which also included a launch of hybrid notes, was announced.
OMV’s two biggest shareholders – Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment and Austrian state holding company OIAG – had said they would buy in to the capital increase.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UniCredit are acting as joint global coordinators and bookrunners.
The Austrian group announced last week that an exploratory well that it is drilling in the Kurdish part of Iraq has found oil.
“It seems good quality oil and it was flowing to surface following a drawdown test. We are now going to continue drilling but I am confident that the final results will be promising,” OMV exploration and production head Jaap Huijskes said.