Acquisition of Interest in Palm Oil Project

RNS Number : 2390D

Dekeloil Public Limited

05 July 2016

 

DekelOil Public Limited / Index: AIM / Epic: DKL / Sector: Food Producers

5 July 2016

DekelOil Public Limited

('DekelOil' or the 'Company')

Completes Acquisition of Additional Interest in Profitable Palm Oil Project

DekelOil Public Limited is pleased to announce that it now holds a 85.75% interest in CS DekelOil Siva Limited ('the Project'), which includes one of West Africa's largest crude palm oil ('CPO') mills.  This follows the completion of the recent acquisition of an additional 34.75% interest in the Project from DekelOil's joint venture partner, Biopalm Energy Limited (see the Company's announcements of 24 May 2016 and 15 June 2016 for further details).

As set out in the recent Circular to shareholders in June 2016, the remaining 14.25% of shares in the Project are now subject to the Second Option Agreement. Under the Second Option Agreement, the pricing of which is fixed and the total outstanding represents €6.1m (before broker commissions and transaction costs), the Company has until 20 December 2016 to exercise the Second Option Agreement. If, upon the expiry of the Second Option, there are unexercised Second Option Shares, Biopalm Energy has the option to convert such unexercised Second Option Shares in CSDS to shares in the Company within ten business days of the expiry of the Second Option in accordance with the terms of the Option Agreement.  The number of shares in the Company to be granted to Biopalm Energy pursuant to such conversion shall be calculated by reference to the higher of either the Company's average trading price for the 3 month period prior to the expiry of the Second Option; or the Company's share price at the date of exercise of the First Option and rounded off to the nearest whole number of shares. In addition, in the event that Biopalm Energy receives shares in the Company in accordance with such conversion, it has agreed to certain orderly market restrictions.

Lincoln Moore, Executive Director of DekelOil, commented, "We believe the timing of the increase in our interest in Ayenouan to 85.75% is excellent.  2016 is the second full year of operations at our 70,000 tonnes per annum extraction mill where, thanks largely to our logistics network gaining traction with local smallholders, CPO production is already ahead of the run rate achieved in 2015 which saw 35,500 tonnes produced.  In addition, 2016 will see our kernel crushing plant make a first full year's contribution, producing value add products, while higher margin fresh fruit bunches grown from our own 1,900 hectares of mature plantations are now being used as feedstock."

**ENDS**

For further information please visit the Company's website www.dekeloil.com or contact:

DekelOil Public Limited Youval Rasin Shai Kol Lincoln Moore	[phone]
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Andrew Craig Richard Salmond	[phone]
Beaufort Securities Limited (Broker) Elliot Hance	[phone]
Optiva Securities Limited (Broker) Christian Dennis Jeremy King	[phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Investor Relations) Elisabeth Cowell Frank Buhagiar	[phone]

Notes:

DekelOil Public Limited is a low cost producer of palm oil in West Africa, which it is focused on rapidly expanding.  To this end, it has a 51% interest in one of the largest oil processing mills based in Côte d'Ivoire, which has a capacity of 70,000 tons of CPO.  Feedstock for the Mill comes from several co-operatives and thousands of smallholders, however it also has nearly 1,900 hectares of its own plantations.  Furthermore, it has a world-class nursery with a 1 million seedlings a year capacity. 

 

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