Etinde strategy17 Mar 2017 20:56
More important than Lechartier’s 1 year stint at Afren (or 3 at Petroceltic), is perhaps his 5-6yrs work at Perenco as New Business lead, Perenco being a prominent operator in Cameroon.
If Etinde is only suggested to be going on the market for around 50-72p to a single buyer, COC would be severely limiting their potential upside if they were not to open up the sale to companies beyond NA and Luk, eg: Perenco or Addax (prominent Cameroon operators) and others. At 50-70p Etinde is an absolute steal for any of these companies; much cheaper than actually exploring for O&G, if you know how to evaluate the asset properly. Fully monetized value for Etinde (previous posts) is vastly beyond 50-72p. That is what all the handbag-swinging is about.
Opening up an Etinde sale may see some very interesting bidding…Not just a sale to NA (as predicted on these boards). There are plenty of prospective buyers out there at these prices…
Not to mention NA and Lukoil bidding against each other for control (as distinct from operatorship) of the Etinde asset.
I had hoped that retaining BA as Chairman with the new COC directors would assist in managing openly the development or disposal of the Etinde asset. However, with COC involvement, the shareholder-base (by number of shares, not the disingenuous ‘number of shareholders’ measurement) has changed from high-reward, long-term investment strategy, to shorter-term low/moderate fast-turnover model. Non-COC supporters should be aware of this and adapt accordingly, or purchase more equity to preserve their strategy-position.
Although the above is speculative, the African dealspace is dynamic, and Etinde is a tinderbox! Lets get the above companies bidding against each other for Etinde…where are the matches…?