DealBook: Sinopec to Buy Daylight Energy for $2.1 Billion

Sinopec of China agreed on Sunday to buy Daylight Energy, a Canadian oil and gas producer, for about $2.1 billion in cash, as Chinese companies increasingly flock to Canada’s oil-rich resources.

Under the terms of the deal, Sinopec’s international exploration and production arm will pay 10.08 Canadian dollars ($9.70) a share. That is more than double Daylight’s closing price of 4.59 Canadian dollars on Friday, and 43.9 percent above the shares’ 60-day weighted average trading price.

That high premium reflects China’s continuing hunger for oil and gas resources to power the country’s growth. Sinopec, formally known as the China Petroleum and Chemical Company, has been among the most active among the country’s oil companies in pursuing acquisitions to increase its holdings.

Much of the focus of Chinese companies has been on Canada and its trove of oil and natural gas holdings. Last year, Sinopec agreed to buy ConocoPhillips’s 9 percent stake in Syncrude Canada for $4.65 billion. And another Chinese company, Cnooc, agreed to pay $2.1 billion to buy Opti Canada.

In Daylight, Sinopec is buying one of Canada’s smaller energy players. It reported a loss of 45.1 million Canadian dollars ($43.4 million) last year on revenue of 511.4 million Canadian dollars. But Daylight owns more than 320,000 acres in western Canada that hold oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids like ethane and propane.

“We believe this transaction with SIPC recognizes the highly attractive asset portfolio and exceptional team that we have assembled at Daylight,” Anthony Lambert, Daylight’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Daylight was advised by Canaccord Genuity, CIBC World Markets and the law firm Blake, Cassels Graydon. Sinopec was advised by Barclays Capital and the law firms Vinson Elkins and Bennett Jones.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/sinopec-to-buy-daylight-energy-for-2-1-billion/?partner=rss&emc=rss