< "> edit this post http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc-%28afr%29/rns/trading-statement-and-operations-update/201301210700069619
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/2012-full-year-results/201303250700107200A/

In an attempt to cut down the header page,i've transferred some of the older news to Page1 post No.3.

http://www.oil-price.net/index.php?lang=en
http://www.ft.com/home/uk

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111020700081674R
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111150700250723S
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112010705051251T
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201170700146472V
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201230701479690V
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4323758
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204170700164488B
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205140700212304D
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205210700407032D
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4430164
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc-%28afr%29/rns/significant-new-seychelles-3d-seismic-programme/201212120700052973T/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/2013-half-yearly-results/201308230700063334M/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/ogo-drilling-and-resources-update/201311190700083404T/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/trading-statement-and-operations-update/201401280700096280Y/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/interim-management-statement/201405200700135209H/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/interim-management-statement/201410300700116483V/
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4942625
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4943375

It shows it's a bad market because on very good news Afren is only up by a penny or so....if times were better the sp would be well over a pound by now.

over 20% increase in 1 day...........highly unlikely! market doesnt make mistakes like that

Buy Afren at 88p
Says James Faulkner of specialist small cap website WatsHot.com
Afren shares have performed well since my tip back in April - at 88p they are up 153% on my tipping price, but despite this cracking performance I still reckon the shares are a 'buy'. I believe we shall see Afren transform itself into a mid-tier producer by the end of 2010, and the geographical location of its assets will make other larger firms stand up and take notice. Afren is set to exit 2010 with daily production of 65,000 barrels per day which, to put things into context, would place it alongside the likes of Tullow Oil and ahead of Cairn Energy, Premier Oil and Dana Petroleum. As I write, the market cap of Tullow Oil stands at 9 billion pounds whereas that of Afren is just 570 million pounds.
Afren was founded in 2004 with the aim of becoming the premier independent pan-African oil exploration and production company. Since its IPO on AIM in 2005 it has built up a portfolio of interests in six countries:Nigeria, Soa Tome & Principe JDZ, Gabon, Congo, the Ivory Coast and Ghana,and is currently producing at a rate of around 27,000 barrels of oil per day, mainly from its Nigerian interests. The company leverages the insight and local clout of its management team to ensure it has the upper hand in its chosen regions through close relationships with governments and through partnerships with indigenous corporations. This provides a low-risk operating model in what is usually considered to be a relatively high risk area. Headed by CEO and industry veteran Osman Shahenshah, the management team is top-notch for an E&P company of this size.

Shortly after my tip in April Afren announced plans for a placing to raise $125 million to finance the early development of the Ebok field. The firm also re-confirmed its intention to seek a listing on the main market. This was an important move because there had been some investor concern over the firm's level of gearing and its ability to fund the development of Ebok. The placing was also heavily oversusbscibed. With the funds in place, the development of Ebok will take place in two stages. The initial phase will cost $150 million, with $100 million planned to be spent during the fourth quarter of 2009 and $50 million during the first quarter of 2010. The first phase will be funded by the placing proceeds as well as the firm's existing cash pile, and is expected to yield initial production rates of c.15-25,000 bopd. The second phase will see production ramped up to c. 50,000 bopd and will cost $200 million. However, capex for phase two will be spread over 2010 and 2011 at $75 million and $125 million respectively, and it is expected this will be funded from internally generated cashflow.
As I hinted at above, key to Afren's success are its relationships with central and local governments in Africa. In July Afren helped establish First Hydrocarbon Nigeria, a majority Nigerian owned oil and gas company in the indigenous Nigerian Exploration & Production sector. The move came in response to the Nigerian government's objective to increase the level of local participation in the oil and gas sector and is consistent with Afren's strong record of working alongside indigenous companies. FHN will be used as a vehicle to acquire substantial oil and gas assets in Nigeria, including any assets that may be divested by the Nigerian government in future licensing rounds. By attaching itself to this entity, Afren is effectively securing for itself the richest pickings when it comes to divestment.
Click for Full Charting facilities from ShareCrazy.com


August saw the extension of Afren's partnership with Oriental Energy Resources Ltd and the signing of a joint venture with Addax Petroleum to develop the Okwok Field, offshore Nigeria and adjacent to, the Ebok field. The move followed a collaborative agreement with Oriental to pursue assets in the region following the farm-in to develop Ebok with Oriental in March 2008. Under the Okwok farm-in agreement, Afren acquired 70% of Addax's 40% legal interest (28%) in the field. Afren will, solely, fund the drilling of one exploration or appraisal well, after which Afren and Addax will fund field development costs 70% and 30% respectively. Afren will be entitled to 70% of net field revenues (pre cost recovery), reverting to 56% (post cost recovery), subject to gross volumes lifted. Afren estimates that 70 million barrels of oil in place could potentially be produced from Okwok, with exploration having the potential to significantly add to the reserves base and synergies with the Ebok development reducing potential development costs e.g. via joint storage and export.
In September Afren's interims showed just how far the company has come in recent times. Revenues came in at $155.2 million, up from nil last year. Net cash from operations of $98 million was generated, enabling the company to bring net debt down from $287.4 million to $194.9 million. Afren is now on the cusp of transforming itself into a serious regional player. Over the next 12-18 months the firm is looking to prove-up 686 million million barrels through an aggressive appraisal programme. Ebok is due to undergo development drilling in the first half of 2010, while Okwok should follow in mid 2010. From here on out things get very big, very quickly. Edison Investment Research is forecasting turnover of $330 million for 2009 and $650 million in 2010, by which time the PE ratio should fall to around 6 times. Buy, at 88p.
Key Data
EPIC: AFR
Market: AIM
Spread: 87p - 89p

......................................................

Apologise if this has been posted before ,,looked interesting

Admission to the main market scheduled for Dec. Great news following on from yesterday.

This could be a 5.00 stock by end of 2012 imo

Admission to the Official List

Pursuant to Rule 41 of the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company (AFR) hereby gives notice of the intended cancellation of trading of its ordinary shares on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange.

It is expected that the cancellation of the trading in its ordinary shares on AIM will take place at the same time as the ordinary shares are admitted to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities, which is expected to occur in early December, subject to the receipt of the necessary approvals from the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange."

Harrycat watch it rocket then!

Blanche i like your opinion,i tend to agree!

it seems that AFR will march straight into FTSE 250 and therefore relevant funds will be obligated to take up a slab where they have not already done so ..... with the obvious additional exposure, it is not unreasonable to suppose that AFR's sp will benefit, and that is without any "good news" ..... my opinion is that AFR is much more likely to generate positive noises than negative

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200911100700122367C
cyril

you been busy cyril.... good article, thanks.

The sp will suffer in the short term..fund raising and not a few pennies either..ouch !.

Seen this before,best example was IEC,dropped roughly 10%. All about the infustructure,doesn't come cheap. They will only raise money at a discount and the market likes whats on offer, so effectively imo a fully subscribed placing is a vote of confidence.
Holding funds in my ISA and readty to buy, once able.
cyril

I think it's good news because the sp won't drop much and barring a disaster, it should support the sp long term. In many ways this could be the springboard the stock needs.

Extreme caution is being advised on the FT chat website at the moment in reference to AFR. Although the reasons are quite complex, this is roughly the summary:
"Afren also announces the exercise, by certain shareholders including some of the Directors (the "Founder Shareholders"), of 40,000,000 warrants over Ordinary Shares (the "Founder Shares") issued pursuant to the Company's Founders' Investment and Warrant Scheme, which are due to expire on 11 December 2009, raising approximately 15 million (US$25 million) (before expenses) for the Company. The proceeds from the exercise of the warrants do not form part of the proceeds of the Placing but will be used in conjunction with the net proceeds of the Placing as described above.
In order to finance the exercise of these warrants and to pay tax obligations arising from the exercise, the Founder Shareholders have agreed to sell some of the Founder Shares in the Placing at the Placing Price (the exact number of which will be calculated following determination of the Placing Price)."
FT [We reckon existing shareholders are facing 25% dilution]
Unspecified source : "Afren announced this morning that it will cancel its AIM listing to move to the LSE. Management had been talking about this move for quite some time and the new listing should give higher visibility to the company. However, valuation is still not attractive and going back to our point that management overestimates reserves, if you go on Afrens website and download the latest analyst presentation you will find evidence of what weve been saying.
We sought clarification from Afren on the reserves gap between NSAI and their own estimate and we were not convinced by the answers that were provided. On Okoro, according to AFR, the annual report referred to the upper and lower sands containing 28.9 mmbbl and this constituted their announcement that there had been a downgrade. On CI-11, the company concedes that its current reserves number represents a small downgrade from that published at the time of acquisition
It says NSAI is another 40% below that because it has yet to incorporate some of Afren's more recent work. No explanation was offered for the difference between the NSAI number and the original number. On the OPL 310, we got clarification on the price they paid: $3 m signature bonus + $10m upon going from OPL to OML + $4 m on first oil. Bottom line: we still have no comfort in AFRs internal estimates, in that regard well use NSAIs numbers which lead us to SELL. SELL AFR"
As presented to the AGM in June 2007, a Founders Scheme has been introduced. Under this scheme the Founders of Afren undertook to invest a total of US$5.0
million equivalent in Afren shares prior to 30 September 2008 and were granted a total of 40 million warrants at an exercise price of 1.60 per share but only if the
share price has reached 2.50 for at least 30 days (an increase of 56% above the exercise price). The warrants expire in December 2009. The shares were purchased at an average price of 1.28 and the agreements were finalised in January 2009. The warrants were subject to certain anti-dilution clauses and as such will be repriced in the recently announced private placement to the lower of the share price of the financing over the five days prior to the issue of the shares or the issue price of the new shares plus 20%. The performance criteria is similarly repriced to 56% above the warrant price.
Basically, it looks like they put in their own money, share price dropped and shareholders are now getting to bail them out at a huge discount."

Harry this article is certainly a warning shot across the bows and PI's may well take heed, especially after SEY's disappointment offshore Mauritainia.

I'm sure that those who may consider taking up the olacings will look very carefully at such issues,so lets see what they decide?
A thought had crossed my mind of the days RNS,perhaps encouraging a drop before discount???
cyril

81p placing....market seems to like it...

Business Financial Newswire
"Afren has raised 104.9m before commissions and expenses by the placing of 129.5 million new ordinary shares with institutional investors at 81p apiece.

This represents in aggregate approximately 18.0% of the issued share capital of Afren prior to the placing. "

Result of Placing - GBP104.9 million (US$175.0 million) Raised


Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Company") announces that it has raised GBP104.9
million (US$175.0 million) before commissions and expenses by the placing
completed today of 129.5 million new ordinary shares of 1 penny each in the
capital of the Company (the "Placing Shares") with institutional investors at 81
pence per share (the "Placing"). Merrill Lynch International ("Merrill Lynch")
is acting as global coordinator and joint bookrunner, Morgan Stanley Securities
Limited ("Morgan Stanley") as joint bookrunner and Jefferies International
Limited ("Jefferies"), Nomura International plc ("Nomura") and Evolution
Securities Limited ("Evolution") as co-lead managers in relation to the Placing.


The Placing represents in aggregate approximately 18.0 per cent. of the issued
share capital of Afren prior to the Placing. The Placing Shares will, when
issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued ordinary shares
of Afren, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions
declared, made or paid after the date of issue.


The Company will apply for admission of the Placing Shares to the Official List
of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main
market for listed securities ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will
take place and that trading will commence on 3 December 2009.


The Placing is conditional upon, inter alia, Admission becoming effective and
upon the passing of the resolutions (without amendment) at the general meeting
of the Company scheduled for 30 November 2009. The Placing is also conditional
on the placing agreement made between the Company, Merrill Lynch, Morgan
Stanley, Jefferies, Nomura and Evolution not being terminated. It is anticipated
that the settlement date will be 3 December 2009.


As announced on 4 November 2009, it is expected that the cancellation of the
trading in Afren's existing ordinary shares on AIM will take place at the same
time as the existing ordinary shares and the Placing Shares are admitted to the
Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for
listed securities, which is expected to occur on 3 December 2009, subject to the
receipt of the necessary approvals from the UK Listing Authority and the London
Stock Exchange.


Exercise of Founder Warrants


Afren also today announced the exercise, by certain shareholders including some
of the Directors (the "Founder Shareholders"), of 40,000,000 warrants over
Ordinary Shares (the "Founder Shares") issued pursuant to the Company's
Founders' Investment and Warrant Scheme, which are due to expire on 11 December
2009, raising approximately GBP15 million (US$25 million) (before expenses) for
the Company. The proceeds from the exercise of the warrants do not form part of
the proceeds of the Placing but will be used in conjunction with the net
proceeds of the Placing.


In order to finance the exercise of these warrants and to pay tax obligations
arising from the exercise, the Founder Shareholders agreed to sell 24.5 million
of the Founder Shares in the Placing at the Placing Price.


Capitalised terms used, but not defined in this announcement have the same
meanings as set out in the announcement released by the Company earlier today in
relation to the Placing.


cyril