Paramount Resources, controlled by Calgary oil man Clayton Riddell, said it garnered $735-million for 24.7-million Seven Generations shares in a series of transactions. It’s received $310-million and expects the remainder in December.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
Paramount Resources Ltd. has sold off about three-quarters of its interest in Seven Generations Energy Ltd., shortly after acquiring the stake as part payment for a $1.9-billion sale of Alberta natural gas assets.
Paramount, controlled by Calgary oil man Clayton Riddell, said it garnered $735-million for 24.7-million Seven Generations shares in a series of transactions. It's received $310-million and expects the remainder in December.
It said it would initially use the money to fund development of its remaining oil and gas properties. The company said it also has the ability to pounce on acquisition opportunities.
The asset sale to Seven Generations, announced in July, cured Paramount's debt woes, and also transformed the company into a much leaner one producing about 20 per cent of its previous volume. Its shares are up 35 per cent since the deal was announced.
Seven Generations also paid $475-million in cash and assumed Paramount debt in exchange for the assets in the Montney region, where it has established a reputation for prolific liquids-rich gas operations.
Paramount said it recently completed the first of a 25-well drilling program in its own Montney acreage in the Karr-Gold Creek area. The stock sale will help fund that slate of wells and an expansion of a processing plant there, it said.
Jeffrey Jones