Talisman Energy Inc. (Talisman) (TSX:TLM)(NYSE:TLM) today announced that two of its affiliates have reached agreement to sell their approximately 12% equity interest in the Ocensa Pipeline in Colombia to an investment group led by Advent International for a total cash consideration of approximately $595 million. All values in this press release are in US$ unless stated otherwise.
"In March, I set a $2-3 billion, 18-month disposition target for Talisman," said Hal Kvisle, President and CEO of Talisman Energy. "In November, we announced the sale of the majority of our Montney position for CDN$1.5 billion, which when combined with some small Canadian assets and our equity interest in the Ocensa pipeline, brings our sale proceeds to approximately $2.2 billion. We will use these to reduce debt and strengthen our balance sheet, and will continue to progress additional opportunities to unlock value. These transactions provide strong momentum going into 2014, where we will continue to focus on our two core regions, our four strategic priorities, and on creating sustainable shareholder value."
The dispositions announced by Talisman are part of a larger Talisman led sales process involving Total Colombia Pipeline (affiliates of Total S.A.) and CEPSA, which will result in the investment group led by Advent International acquiring an aggregate approximately 22% shareholding in the Ocensa pipeline.
"Through this transaction, we have unlocked net value from our portfolio and retained our crude transportation rights," said Hal Kvisle, President and CEO of Talisman Energy. "This enables us to maintain our competitive advantage by transporting oil from our own operations and generating third party revenue from any surplus capacity."
