Amadeus acquisition to get Lonestar ASX listing

Texas-based private oil and gas producer Lonestar Resources yesterday said it had struck a deal with Australian firm to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange listing.

Shares in Amadeus were up 4.3 per cent at 24.5 cents a share after the company announced it would purchase 100 per cent of Lonestar's London-based holding company, Ecofin Energy Resources.

According to Amadeus chairman Craig Coleman the company believed it would create a company with a significantly more compelling investment proposition…and the potential for substantial future earnings growth from both existing assets and new acquisitions.

Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities which had total assets of 513.4 million British pounds ($823 million) as at 30 September, established Ecofin Energy Resources in July 2010 to pursue acquisitions in the US shale gas sector.

It would own 54 per cent of Amadeus post-transaction, but intended to support initiatives by the company aimed at increasing its free float in the near term. Amadeus would be renamed Lonestar Resources.

According to Lonestar chief executive officer Frank Bracken, the combined company created a well-capitalised platform on which Lonestar planned to substantially accelerate its business plan, which called for the acquisition and development of operated leasehold in its primary focus area, the Eagle Ford Shale.