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Senex Energy acquired by South Korean steel group
POSCO International has been advised on the acquisition of an Australian gas producer for $860 million.
Lauren Croft
Firm: DLA Piper (POSCO International).
Value: $860 million.
Area: M&A.
Key players: The DLA Piper team was led by Daniel Lee, partner in Seoul, and James Stewart and Andrew Fisken, partners in the Australian M&A team, led the team on the ground, as well as DK Kim, of counsel in Seoul, who worked closely with PIC in Korea.
Deal significance: The deal involved having Hancock Energy, which owns the largest single iron ore mine in Australia, team up with POSCO (PIC’s parent company) to acquire Senex together. Through this joint venture, PIC will own 50.1 per cent and Hancock will own 49.9 per cent of the SPC, which will wholly own Senex Energy after the completion of the scheme.
Senex operates exploration permits covering more than 70,000 square kilometres in South Australia and Queensland. This acquisition will enable PIC to hold one of the largest natural gas assets portfolios in Asia.
“Working very closely with the PIC team, we managed the complexity of acquiring a public company through a scheme of arrangement,” Mr Stewart said.
Mr Fisken commented: “Our global team was instrumental in making this deal a success and we look forward to continuing to work with our valued client on the next phase of this initiative.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
