Private equity group launches review of business in latest sign dealmaking in sector may be on the rise
Carlyle Group is weighing a sale or merger of its Gabon-focused oil and gas producer Assala Energy in the latest sign that high commodity prices may be ushering in a new period of dealmaking in the oil industry.
The US private equity group has launched a strategic review of the business, which it acquired from Shell in 2017 for $628mn, according to people familiar with the plan.
Since Carlyle acquired the business five years ago it has spent about $750mn boosting production and extending the life expectancy of the company’s reserves from five years in 2017 to eight years today. It is now the second-largest oil producer in Gabon and among the largest onshore producers in Africa, pumping about 55,000 barrels a day.
Read more: FT
