Vote postponed on IGas deal

CORPORATE advisers have downgraded their view of IGas Energy’s all-share deal for an Australian rival Dart from “fair” to “reasonable”.

It comes after IGas shares fell by around 10% over the past month to 106p, and down from 130p when the deal was first agreed in May.

Because of this Deloitte Corporate Finance said it was appropriate to change its official opinion to reasonable from fair. It also said the share price fall was consistent with comparable oil and gas companies in the UK.

IGas, which is planning to frack for shale gas in the North West, agreed a £117m deal for Dart, which also holds UK licences. Under the terms of the deal, shareholders of Dart, which is listed in Australia, will receive 0.08 IGas shares for each of theirs.

A shareholder vote has now been postponed to allow for more information to be supplied, but IGas said the deal continues to be unanimously recommended by both the Dart directors and IGas directors.

IGas has shale gas licences across the North West, mainly at sites along the Manchester Ship Canal to the Mersey Estuary, and Dart is exploring sites in Cheshire at Upton Heath and Farndon.

IGas is already extracting coal bed methane near Warrington, and spent the first three months of the year drilling a shale gas test site at Barton in Salford which attracted strong oposition from environmental campaigners who argue fracking – which releases gas by fracturing the shale bed – can cause air and water pollution.

The company is planning to start drilling at another exploratory rig in Ellesmere Port by the end of the year.