Bahamas Petroleum Company (LON:BPC)  and Columbus Energy Resources (LON:CERP)  have unveiled plans for a £25m all-share merger with the intention of creating a “Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas champion”. 
 
Both Boards said they believe that an all-share merger will create a Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas 'champion', with assets that range across the full spectrum of oil and gas activities, from exploration, appraisal and development to production. 
 
Columbus shareholders will receive 0.803 new BPC shares while the merger values Columbus at £25.1m at 2.57p, an 11% premium to its 2.40p closing price on Wednesday. 
 
The combined group will have access to high-impact exploration well in The Bahamas, five producing fields, two appraisal / development projects Trinidad, and an expansive frontier exploration acreage offshore Uruguay and Suriname. 
 
Following the merger, BPC’s Board and management team will remain unchanged, while Columbus’ executive chairman, Leo Koot, will join BPC and become a non-executive director. 
 
Shares in Bahamas Petroleum Company closed Thursday trading at 2.6p.

Geoffrey Leid, MD, Trinidad of Columbus, will also join the BPC executive leadership team while Anthony Hawkins and Gordon Stein, CERP’s CEO and Finance Director, will terminate their roles but will remain available in the short-term by consultancy. 
 
Simon Potter, CEO of BPC said the acquired assets are “entirely complementary” to its project in the Bahamas where the Perseverance-1 well is expected to be drilled later this year. 
 
“It is important to note that the forward work programme is largely discretionary, and therefore operational sequencing can be varied to optimize the use of available resources,” he added. 
 
Potter said an Atlantic margin focused, full-cycle exploration and production company will come with “multiple opportunities over the next 12 - 24 months for generating shareholder value across an asset base covering The Bahamas, Trinidad, Suriname and Uruguay."
 
“The combined group will create a larger, more diversified oil and gas champion for the Caribbean and South America, with assets that range across the full spectrum of oil and gas activities, from exploration through appraisal and development to production,” said Koot. 
 
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