2008-09-02-2007-10-05-2008-07-15

Bought cos., gaining 67.3 Bcfe proved, 2,401 BOE in onshore/offshore LA.

Saratoga Resources Inc., Austin, Texas, (OTCBB: SROE) has closed its acquisition of Covington, La.-based Harvest Oil & Gas LLC and The Harvest Group LLC for a total of approximately $118 million in cash and stock in separate deals. Saratoga paid $105.68 million in cash and issued 4.9 million shares of stock, a part of which was used to pay Harvest debt and applied to eliminating an existing net-profits interest in Harvest properties. Harvest owns, manages and operates producing oil and gas properties in southern Louisiana onshore and in state waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Proved reserves of Harvest totaled 67.3 billion cubic feet equivalent (66% gas) based on a Jan. 1, 2008, third-party engineering report. Average daily net production for May was 1,656 barrels of oil and 4.467 million cubic feet per day, or 2,401 barrels equivalent (31% gas). Financing was provided through a $97.5-million second-lien senior-note facility and a $25-million first-lien senior, revolving, credit facility. Saratoga issued a warrant to purchase 805,515 shares at $0.01 per share. Macquarie Americas Corp., a subsidiary of Macquarie Group, (Australia: MQG) received 3.3 million shares, or approximately 20.8% of the outstanding shares following the acquisition. Saratoga chairman and chief executive Thomas Cooke says, "We are extremely pleased to have completed the Harvest acquisitions and associated financing and look forward to continuing to develop what we believe is a very promising portfolio of properties and a great first step in implementing our plan to acquire, develop and operate strategic oil and gas properties with unrealized value." He says most of the Harvest team will remain in Covington and another office will open in Houston.