BUSINESS Watch -- WSJ
November 26 2016 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
BP
Energy Giant Acquires Stake in Eni Gas Field
BP PLC has agreed to buy a 10% stake in Eni SpA's super-giant
Zohr gas field offshore Egypt, expanding an already-extensive
footprint in the area.
The $375 million stake in the Shorouk concession will give BP
access to one of the biggest gas discoveries in recent years. The
Zohr field was discovered by Eni in 2015 and is thought to hold
roughly 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. The Italian oil company has
said it would sell EUR7 billion ($7.41 billion) in assets by 2019,
largely through divesting stakes in recently discovered fields, to
help it weather the decline in oil prices and to finance future
developments.
Under the terms of the Egyptian deal, BP will retain the right
to buy another 5% stake in the concession before the end of 2017.
The British oil giant will also reimburse Eni for its share of past
expenditure once the deal closes -- currently a sum of about $150
million.
--
Sarah Kent
STX OFFSHORE
Sale Halted; Judge Disqualifies Bidder
The sale of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. hit a hurdle
Friday as a bankruptcy court handling the case disqualified a
bidder aiming to scoop up the South Korean company's assets.
A U.K. investment fund, whose name wasn't publicly disclosed,
earlier this month submitted a letter of intent to buy STX
Offshore's assets, including shipyards in Korea and abroad. It
dropped out of the bidding because it couldn't demonstrate how it
would fund the deal, a judge and spokesman for the Seoul Central
District Court said.
STX Offshore, Korea's fourth-largest shipbuilder, filed for
receivership in May amid a slump in the global shipping business.
Creditors have pumped in billions of dollars to bail out STX
Offshore, which logged a 314 billion won ($265.6 million) operating
loss last year, following a 1.5 trillion won loss in 2014. The
company owes financial institutions nearly six trillion won.
--In-Soo Nam
NASPERS
Currency Woes Weigh on Results
Media giant Naspers Ltd. on Friday posted a 9.2% drop in
first-half net profit as strength in its online-shopping businesses
wasn't enough to offset the decline in currencies in some of its
key markets.
Cape Town, South Africa-based Naspers said net profit for the
six months ended Sept. 30 was $554 million, down from $610 million
a year earlier. Revenue edged lower, to $2.96 billion from $2.98
billion.
However, core earnings, which Naspers said best represent the
performance of its businesses, were up 31% at $914 million.
Naspers, which started reporting its earnings in dollars at the
end of its last financial year, said revenues at its e-commerce
businesses were up 14% at $1.4 billion, but would have increased by
24% had it not been for the drop in emerging-market currencies.
Trading losses declined marginally to $292 million. Naspers owns
online retailers in India, Russia and Poland, among other
countries.
--Gabriele Steinhauser and Rory Gallivan
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 26, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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