HOUSTON,– Talos Energy Inc. (“Talos” or the “Company”) (NYSE: TALO) today announced that the Company has entered into a series of definitive agreements to acquire a broad portfolio of U.S. Gulf of Mexico producing assets, exploration prospects and acreage from affiliates of ILX Holdings, Castex Energy and Venari Resources for $640 million as of the effective date. Specifically, Talos has signed definitive agreements to acquire all producing assets, primary term acreage and prospects of ILX Holdings, all producing assets and certain primary term acreage and prospects of ILX Holdings II, all primary term acreage and prospects of ILX Holdings III (“ILX Acquisitions”) and certain subsidiaries of the Castex 2014 and Castex 2016 entities (“Castex Acquisitions”). In a separate transaction, Talos executed a purchase and sale agreement and closed on the acquisition of all primary term acreage and prospects from Venari Resources (“Venari Acquisition” and collectively with the ILX Acquisitions and the Castex Acquisitions, the “Transactions” or the “Acquired Assets”).
The Acquired Assets produced approximately 19 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (“MBoe/d”) during the third quarter of 2019 and had proved and probable (“2P”) reserves(2) of approximately 68 million barrels of oil equivalent (“MMBoe”) as of the effective date of July 1, 2019. 83% of the Proved reserves are considered Proved Developed(2). In addition, the Transaction includes over 40 identified exploration prospects located on a total acreage footprint of approximately 700,000 gross acres. Closing of the ILX Acquisitions and Castex Acquisitions is expected in the first quarter of 2020.
Key highlights of the Transactions include:
Talos President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Duncan commented, “The acquisition of these assets significantly strengthens Talos’s position as a basin leading independent E&P company, providing increased scale and free cash flow, greater operational diversity and broader optionality in future growth. We are executing the transaction at an attractive valuation that is accretive to our shareholders and with a funding structure that preserves our strong balance sheet and liquidity. What makes this transaction unique is the combination of high-margin production and a deep portfolio of prospects. As we consider the full scale of the pro forma business, the combined cash flow profile and the significant exploration portfolio, we are excited about the tremendous potential to build long-term value, not only from these assets alone but from the optimization of the combined asset base, high-grading of investment opportunities, follow-on business development and M&A activity.”
The net consideration at closing of the ILX Acquisitions and Castex Acquisitions is expected to be funded with the issuance of new Talos shares and cash from existing sources of liquidity. Talos will issue 11.0 million shares to sellers at closing, or $250 million in equity consideration based upon the volume-weighted average price for the 30 trading days ending December 5, 2019. Effective December 10, 2019, the borrowing base under the Company’s revolving credit facility increased from $850 million to $950 million as part of the regular fall redetermination process, and will be further increased to a total size of $1,150 million simultaneous with the closing of the ILX Acquisitions and Castex Acquisitions. The purchase price is subject to customary purchase price adjustments between the July 1, 2019 effective date and the expected close date, which will significantly reduce Talos’s cash requirements at closing. In advance of the Transaction, Talos entered into WTI swaps, including 1.1 MMBoe for 2020 at a weighted average price of $55.46 per barrel.
The ILX Acquisitions and Castex Acquisitions were unanimously approved by a sub-set of the Company’s Board of Directors comprised of representatives unaffiliated with Riverstone Holdings LLC and the Acquired Assets. Simultaneous with the execution of definitive documentation, affiliates of Apollo Global Management and Riverstone Holdings LLC, which collectively control approximately 63% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, provided their stockholder approvals.
Guggenheim Securities, LLC acted as lead financial advisor to Talos and provided a fairness opinion with respect to the ILX Acquisitions and Castex Acquisitions. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC also provided financial advice to Talos related to financing and led the arrangement of increased commitments with respect to the Company’s revolving credit facility and borrowing base. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. acted as legal advisors to Talos. Evercore Inc. and Latham & Watkins L.L.P. are serving as financial and legal advisors to Riverstone Holdings LLC, respectively.
Notes:
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS, CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION
Talos has posted additional materials, including a slide presentation, related to the transaction on its website at www.talosenergy.com.
Talos will host a conference call, which will also be broadcast live over the internet, on December 11, 2019 at 7:00 AM CST. Listeners can access the conference call live over the internet through a webcast link on the Company’s website at: https://www.talosenergy.com/investors. Alternatively, the conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-888-348-8927 (U.S. toll-free), 1-855-669-9657 (Canada toll-free) or 1-412-902-4263 (international). Please dial in approximately 15 minutes before the teleconference is scheduled to begin and ask to be joined into the Talos Energy call. A replay of the call will be available one hour after the conclusion of the conference call through December 17, 2019 and can be accessed by dialing 1-877-344-7529 and using access code 10137425.
ABOUT TALOS ENERGY
Talos Energy (NYSE: TALO) is a technically driven independent exploration and production company focused on safely and efficiently maximizing cash-flows and long-term value through our operations, currently in the United States Gulf of Mexico and offshore Mexico. As one of the US Gulf’s largest public independent producers, we leverage decades of geology, geophysics and offshore operations expertise towards the acquisition, exploration, exploitation and development of assets in key geological trends that are present in many offshore basins around the world. Our activities in offshore Mexico provide high impact exploration opportunities in an oil rich emerging basin. For more information, visit www.talosenergy.com.