Premier Oil Plc said Jan. 25 that Alexander Krane would take over as its CFO as a reverse takeover of the company by private equity-backed Chrysaor Holdings Ltd. is set to complete in first-quarter 2021.

Krane, a former CFO with Aker BP ASA, will replace Richard Rose, who will step down as interim CEO and finance director of Premier Oil. He started his career at KPMG and has over 20 years of experience from holding various accounting, controlling and executive roles in the energy industry.

Upon closing of the reverse merger, Premier Oil will be renamed Harbour Energy Plc and become the British North Sea’s largest oil and gas producer.

Once the merger is complete, Linda Cook will become Harbour Energy CEO and Blair Thomas chairman of the group, which is expected to produce 200,000-220,000 boe/d next year.

The prospectus said the combined group is seen generating enough free cash flow to support shareholder returns, and a sustainable dividend is expected to be introduced with respect to the financial year to Dec. 2021.

On Jan. 12, Premier Oil shareholders voted in favor of the reverse takeover in which Premier shareholders will hold about 5.5%.

Creditors of Premier, which has net debt of $1.9 billion, will receive $1.2 billion in cash under the merger and debt restructuring plan from a new debt facility and existing cash from both groups.

This on average represents a payout of around 61 cents for each dollar owed, the prospectus said. They can also elect to receive further shares representing up to 18% of the new group, or a cash alternative bringing the payout to around 75 cents.

Premier said the creditor vote is expected on Feb. 22.

“As previously announced, the requisite level of Premier's creditors have irrevocably undertaken to vote in favor of the restructuring plans,” the company said Jan. 12.

Reuters contributed to this article.

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