Apr 2021
Conyers advised Chrysaor, the UK’s leading independent North Sea oil and gas group on its merger with Premier Oil plc through a reverse takeover which included the reorganisation of Premier’s existing debt and cross-currency swaps. The merger creates a new independent oil and gas company, Harbour Energy plc, which is now the largest independent oil and gas company listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately US$5 billion.
Chrysaor is backed by Harbour Energy, a global energy investor founded and managed by EIG Global Energy Partners. Under the terms of the debt-for-equity agreement, Chrysaor owns 77% of the shares of Harbour with Premier retaining 5%.
The cross-practice team at Conyers who advised on the Cayman Islands legal aspects of the proposed merger was led by Corporate partner Craig Fulton with support from Restructuring partner, Ben Hobden. They were supported by Corporate Counsels Alex Davies and Barnabas Finnigan and Associates Philippa Gilkes and Ali Low. Conyers worked closely with Clifford Chance in London who managed the onshore aspects of the transaction for Chrysaor.