STO Santos Limited

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Santos Ltd. (STO.AU) has struck a deal to sell a portfolio of Asian energy assets, marking its exit from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh as it continues to reduce its debt burden.

The Australian oil-and-gas producer, a target of a takeover offer worth about US$10.5 billion, said it was selling the assets to Ophir Energy PLC (OPHR.LN) for US$221 million, with all its employees associated with the operations transferring as part of the agreement.

The assets, which Santos said were relatively "late-life" and not prioritized for investment, include stakes in oil and gas fields around Asia. Santos's shares of production from the assets in the first quarter of the year was 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The sale is expected to conclude by the end of the year, subject to approval by Ophir's shareholders.

Santos, which had debt of US$2.5 billion at the end of March, in early in April received a fresh takeover proposal from private-equity-backed Harbour Energy Ltd. Harbour has begun confirmatory due diligence to determine if it will proceed with a formal bid.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2018 20:51 ET (00:51 GMT)

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