Kisan International Trading FZE, a Dubai-based subsidiary of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iffco), has invested $10.7 million (Rs 52.4 crore) in Canadian shale oil and gas exploration company Americas Petrogas Inc.
The deal involves private placement of 3,057,000 common shares of Americas Petrogas at a price of $3.50 a share.
The proceeds of the stake sale will be used to fund exploration and development of the company’s shale oil, shale gas and condensate prospects, and conventional oil and gas properties, and also for general corporate purposes.
This comes as a back-to-back fundraising initiative by Americas Petrogas, which has recently raised $60 million through a private placement of equity shares via a ‘bought deal’ offering.
Americas Petrogas is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas properties in Argentina. The company holds interests in 16 blocks which cover approximately 2 million acres of land in Neuquén basin, Argentina. The company, through its subsidiary GrowMax Agri Corp, is also involved in the exploration and development of the Bayovar potash brine concession for potash and other minerals, such as bromine and phosphates. The project covers nearly 82,000 hectares and is located in the Sechura Desert near Bayovar in northern Peru.
“We are thankful for the support that we have received from Iffco over the past few years and welcome their continued, long-term involvement with Americas Petrogas. With these additional funds, we can further advance both our unconventional and conventional blocks in the Neuquén Basin,†said Barclay Hambrook, president & CEO of the company.
Iffco, a cash-rich fertiliser co-operative federation and an existing investor in Americas Petrogas, raised its holding in the company to 15.3 per cent in March last year after converting the balance of principal debt outstanding under a previously issued unsecured convertible promissory note.
With a previous round of funding where the Canadian firm raised $60 million, Iffco’s holding could have shrunk marginally but with additional funding, it maintained its stake at the same level, as per VCCircle estimates.