09 December 2014, News Wires – Spain’s Repsol has reportedly rekindled its interest in a possible acquisition of Canada producer Talisman Energy, a Bloomberg report Monday said.
Rumours of a deal had initially popped up in August before hitting a snag and fading from the scene, reportedly due to a disagreement over assets in the North Sea.
Flush with cash after a compensation deal for the nationalisation of Argentina energy producer YPF, Repsol has been on the lookout for acquisition targets particularly in North America and, according to the news wire, gave a fresh look to the Canadian oufit.
Neither company immediately responded to an Upstream request for comment.
Discussion of a deal did little to counterbalance negative energy market sentiment on a day where oil prices fell further, with Talisman shares closing down 5.08% in New York and 4.23% in Toronto.
Talisman earlier this year confirmed the confirmed the approach of Repsol but did not divulge potential details.
“There is no assurance that this will result in any transaction. I hope you understand that I can’t comment further in the matter,” chief executive Hal Kvisle told analysts during a conference call discussing second quarter results.
Asset sales were also considered a possibility if a full-scale deal foundered.
Talisman’s assets include operations in prolific areas like the Eagle Ford and Marcellus shales in the US and Western Canada’s burgeoning Duvernay and Montney shale regions.
– Upstream