Bahamian Mutual Fund Initiative Update

RNS Number : 7650Y

Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC

06 January 2020

 

6 January 2020

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc

("Bahamas Petroleum" or the "Company")

Bahamian Mutual Fund Initiative Update

Bahamas Petroleum Company, the oil and gas exploration company with significant prospective resources in licences in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is pleased to provide the following update on the creation of a Bahamian domiciled mutual fund.

Highlights

·    Bahamas Petroleum to provide qualifying Bahamian investors with the option to share in the outcome of the project to explore for hydrocarbons in The Bahamas, should they so wish

·    Professional Mutual Fund (the "Fund") incorporated, licenced and open to subscriptions by qualifying institutional investors from 6 January 2020 until 7 February 2020

·    Bahamas Petroleum to provide up to 100m new ordinary shares to the fund at the previous Open Offer price of 2 pence per share, thereby providing relevant investors in The Bahamas equal pricing to that offered to other shareholders

As previously announced on 28 November 2019, the Company appointed Leno Corporate Services Limited ("Leno") to advise on the creation of a Bahamian domiciled mutual fund investment vehicle (the Fund) with the sole mandate of owning BPC shares for the benefit of Bahamian investors.  The Company is now pleased to announce that the Fund has been incorporated, licenced as a "Professional" Fund, and will be open for receipt of initial subscriptions from 09:00 EST today.  The initial subscription period will end on 7 February 2020, whereby the proceeds received from investor subscriptions will then be utilised for the purchase of ordinary shares in Bahamas Petroleum.  Thereafter, subscriptions and redemptions will be processed on a monthly basis, or more frequently if felt appropriate by the Fund, whereby any additional proceeds raised by net subscriptions will be used to purchase ordinary shares in Bahamas Petroleum, either directly in the form of new shares issued by the Company (should it agree to do so) or existing issued shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("AIM").

Under the terms of the Fund Investment Memorandum, a copy of which can be found on Leno's website at www.lenobahamas.com, the Company has agreed to issue up to 100 million ordinary shares at 2 pence per share to the Fund, being the same price as that offered to the existing shareholders of the Company who were eligible to participate in the recent Open Offer. If the Fund were to be issued this number of shares in full, gross proceeds to the Company would be the equivalent of £2 million (received in Bahamian dollars), and the Fund would  hold approximately 4.47 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital of BPC following issuance of these new shares. To the extent that the initial subscription proceeds of the Fund exceed this predefined amount, the Fund may either request to acquire additional new shares directly from the Company (should the Company agree to issue such shares), or the Fund may seek to purchase existing shares openly on AIM, making the required market disclosure in either scenario.

The Company has agreed to fund the set up costs and first year of the Fund's operating expenses up to a maximum of B$50,000, as an additional expression of support for the Fund's objective, being to provide a mechanism whereby Bahamian investors are able to invest in the Company and thereby have an interest in the outcome of the planned upcoming exploration well.

The Fund has initially been licenced as a "Professional" fund, such that qualifying professional / institutional investors will be able to subscribe for shares in the Fund. However, Leno intends to make application to the Bahamian Securities Commission (the "SCB") for reclassification of the Fund as a "Standard" fund, which would allow participation in the Fund by non-professional retail investors in The Bahamas, should such approval be granted.  The SCB will arrive at a decision on this application in due course and the Company will provide further updates on this process when appropriate.

Full details of the Fund, including the Fund's Investment Memorandum and constitutional documents, may be found on Leno's website at https://www.lenobahamas.com/images/pdf-docs/BPC_Bahamas_Fund_PPM.pdf.  For all inquiries as to how to subscribe for shares in the Fund please contact [e-mail]. 

Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer of Bahamas Petroleum Company, said:

"It has long been the Company's intention to provide Bahamians a means of investing directly in this nationally significant project.  Whilst the royalty regime under which BPC operates ensures economic value for the people of the Bahamas via government revenues, the mutual fund initiative will allow Bahamian individuals to hold a stake in the outcome of this exciting and potentially transformational project, and thus to personally benefit should the project be successful."

For further information, please contact:

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Strand Hanson Limited - Nomad Rory Murphy / James Spinney / Jack Botros	Tel: [phone]
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited Jerry Keen / Toby Gibbs	Tel: [phone]
CAMARCO Billy Clegg / James Crothers	Tel: [phone]

www.bpcplc.com

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