🤑 It doesn’t get more affordable. Grab this 60% OFF Black Friday offer before it disappears…CLAIM SALE

UPDATE 2-Magma to raise stake in Iceland geothermal company

Published 08/17/2009, 05:51 PM
Updated 08/17/2009, 05:54 PM

* 32 pct stake could be worth $74 million

* Could end up with 48.1 pct stake

* Magma stock ends unchanged in weak market (Recasts with background, analyst comments; in U.S. dollars unless noted)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Magma Energy Corp , Canada's biggest geothermal company, said on Monday it would acquire an additional 32 percent stake in Iceland's largest privately owned energy company, HS Orka.

The transaction comes three weeks after Magma said it had signed a deal to acquire a 10.8 percent stake in the Icelandic geothermal company, with an option to take up another 5 percent. [ID:nN23491065]

If both transactions close, Magma, which raised C$100 million ($90 million) in an initial public offering last month, would hold a 43.1 percent stake in HS Orka. It will have an option to increase this to 48.1 percent.

No price was given for the deal announced on Monday.

The transaction prices announced for the 10.8 percent stake value HS Orka at around $232 million, meaning a 32 percent interest could be worth $74 million, said Matt Gowing an analyst at Research Capital in Toronto.

"That's a huge chunk of the money they raised," Gowing told Reuters.

Magma, which was founded by well-known Vancouver-based mining entrepreneur Ross Beaty, was not immediately available for comment.

The company's stock ended unchanged at C$1.85 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Gowing said the stock would likely have risen had the overall market not been down nearly 3 percent.

Magma said in a statement it was selected as the preferred bidder for HS Orka through an auction process carried out by Reykjavik Energy on behalf of itself and two other HS Orka shareholders.

Magma, which is seeking to boost its geothermal power production capacity, said the two sides expect to conclude negotiations this month and close the deal in September.

"Assuming completion of the acquisitions, Magma's direct and indirect installed gross geothermal power production will increase to 86.4 megawatts immediately," Beaty said in a statement.

Gowing said about 20 percent of Iceland's electricity comes from geothermal power, which comes from hot water and steam produced deep below the earth's surface. It is piped to the surface and used to drive turbines to produce electricity.

($1=$1.11 Canadian) (Reporting by Nicole Mordant and Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; editing by Rob Wilson)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.