offer for wcl could be a sign of more csg m&a

Offer for Westside Corporation could be a sign of more CSG M&A activity on the ASX

Sunday, February 19, 2012
by Bevis Yeo

Interest in coal seam gas juniors remains strong if the potential A$165.2 million takeover bid for Westside Corporation (ASX:WCL) is any indication.

The offer for Westside follows the completion of Arrow Energy’s A$535 million takeover of Bow Energy in January this year and Santos (ASX:STO) doing the same with its A$924 million acquisition of Eastern Star Gas in November last year.

Looking a little more closely at the offer for Westside from the as yet unnamed buyer shows the offer price of A$0.65 per Westside share represents a 91.2% premium over the closing price of A$0.34 per share on 10 February.

Since then, shares in Westside have climbed to A$0.57, a 14% discount from the offer price.

What it does indicate is that some (if not most) of the CSG juniors remain undervalued and that the potential for further growth has buyers willing to pay a hefty premium.

Westside’s reserves upgrade on 16 February underlines this growth potential and is a strong example of why potential buyers are acting now to secure acreage and reserves while the juniors are still available as comparative bargains.

Action plans

The juniors of course are well aware of this and have not been sitting still.

Blue Energy (ASX:BUL) has scored a bit of a coup after former Santos managing director John Ellice-Flint, who was instrumental in establishing CSG as a viable gas resource in Australia, accepted an invitation to grow its reserves in Queensland.

Ellice-Flint’s skills and expertise along with an almost overshadowed capital raising effort are aimed at increasing Blue’s current proved, probable and possible reserves from 75 petajoules to 3000 petajoules in 2014.

Comet Ridge (ASX:COI) is participating in the drilling of the first two pilot wells in ATP 337P in the Bowen Basin and is currently interpreting 2D seismic that it shot over ATP 743P and ATP 744P in the Galilee Basin.

This data will be integrated into current basin models and together with future technical studies, will have a major impact on Comet Ridge’s drilling programme in the Galilee Basin in 2012.

Comet Ridge is currently planning to drill four core holes in the two permits.

Metgasco (ASX:MEL) is planning to drill two core wells on the least mature of its three exploration permits – PEL 426 in the Clarence Moreton Basin – to further calibrate its resource model while Icon Energy (ASX:ICN) will drill two wells in the northern portion of ATP626P in April.

Red Sky Energy (ASX:ROG) continues to wait on a decision from the New South Wales Department of Trade and Investment, Resources and Energy to green light its Talma pilot well, which could provide an upgrade to its current proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves of 114 petajoules.

In addition, Senex Energy (ASX:SXY) will drill a second CSG well in ATP 593P in the Surat Basin while Dart Energy (ASX:DTE) is planning to drill 10 core holes in New South Wales.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/25451/offer-for-westside-corporation-could-be-a-sign-of-more-csg-ma-activity-on-the-asx-25451.html