Beacon Energy PLC (AIM:BCE) told investors it has closed its funding ahead of its proposed takeover of German oil and gas assets via Rhein Petroleum.
The transaction, announced in December, is advancing with an admission document now submitted and an EGM slated for 5 April, while the company is requesting that its AIM-quoted shares resume trading on or around 11 April.
In the funding, some 5.49bn new shares are to be issued at a price of 0.11p each to raise £6.04mln (US$7.34mln), which is in addition to 3.48bn of new shares as consideration for the Rhein transaction.
"We are delighted to have closed out this fundraise which, despite the very challenging market conditions of the past couple of weeks, reflects good demand for the investment proposition that we put in front of new and existing shareholders,” Beacon chief executive Larry Bottomley said in a statement.
“The acquisition of Rhein Petroleum is truly transformative for Beacon, providing the company with proven reserves, existing and near-term production growth, material upside potential and an exciting pipeline of value catalysts in the next 18 months.
“We look forward to updating the market in due course regarding the final outstanding milestones associated with the RTO process."
Beacon today highlighted that the proposed acquisition will give the company a beneficial interest in a proven oil field with material existing resources (3.85mln barrels of net reserves plus 22.96mln barrels of contingent resources) across four core areas.
The assets are described as a "full-cycle portfolio of largely operated production, development, appraisal and exploration assets".