Delek completes Ithaca acquisition for $590m

Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) has completed the acquisition of all Canadian company Ithaca Energy Inc's. shares. The deal transforms the Israeli company, controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva, into a major international energy player.

Delek's offer to purchase won it enough response for it to be able to forcibly purchase the entire 100% of the shares of Ithaca. The deal makes Delek worth NIS 9.7 billion and Ithaca's shares will be delisted from the London and Toronto stock exchanges. Delek will pay $520 million for Ithaca's outstanding shares in a deal that totals $590 million.

In October 2015, Delek bought a 19.99% stake in Ithaca for $68 million, at $1.05 per share, which it financed from its own resources. In February 2017, as part of its strategy to expand its international operations, Delek published an offer to purchase for the remaining shares at $1.95 per share.

Ithaca Energy is an international energy company active in the North Sea, with operational experience, including deep water drilling, development of reservoirs, and production of oil and gas.

Delek's share price rose 4.59% today in response to the news.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 14, 2017