The Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa’s largest money manager with more than R1.8-trillion, has substantially increased its holding in oil and gas exploration group Sacoil.
Sacoil said on Tuesday that the PIC, acting on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), had acquired the total interests in the securities of the company held by Westglamry and Newdel, increasing the PIC’s holding on behalf of the GEPF to 68.65% from 42%.
Newdel and Westglamry no longer have notifiable interests in the company.
The announcement sent Sacoil’s share price through the rafters, with the penny stock’s price closing 21.05% higher at 23c on Tuesday.
Sacoil, a junior in the sector, has a market capitalisation of about R621m. The PIC’s investment will give the struggling exploration group greater access to capital.
Sacoil made a R39.59m profit for the year to February 2016, far better than its R277.03m loss for the year to February 2015, but the group has not yet lived up to its billing of being a major oil producer in Africa.
Sacoil, which is dual-listed on the JSE and AIM, still harbours ambitions to be a part of a group of companies that builds a $6bn project pipeline to transport gas from offshore Mozambique to Gauteng.
Sacoil has a diverse portfolio of assets spanning production in Egypt; exploration and appraisal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Botswana; and midstream projects, including trading in crude oil in Nigeria and a terminal project in Equatorial Guinea.
"Our focus as a group is on delivering energy for the African continent by using Africa’s own resources to meet the significant growth in demand expected over the next decade," the South African-based company said.
"The company continues to evaluate industry opportunities throughout Africa as it seeks to establish itself as a leading, full-cycle pan-African oil and gas company."
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