UK gas producer Energean terminates Carlyle deal over approval delays

By Anandita Mehrotra and Shadia Nasralla

(Reuters) -UK-based gas producer Energean said on Friday it was terminating a deal with private equity fund Carlyle for the sale of some of its assets due to delays in obtaining regulatory approvals in Italy and Egypt.

The two companies struck a $945 million deal in June last year that would allow Carlyle to establish a new Mediterranean-focused oil and gas company, led by former BP CEO Tony Hayward, and utilise Energean's assets in Egypt, Italy, and Croatia.

"While I am disappointed that Carlyle was unable to obtain the necessary approvals in Italy and Egypt, I want to reaffirm that this outcome does not change our strategic direction or our commitment to growth and shareholder returns," Energean CEO Mathios Rigas said in a statement.

The company said that the two parties were unable to agree on an extension of the long-stop date beyond March 20 to meet the conditions of the agreement.

"Carlyle made significant and extensive efforts in good faith to close the transaction but ultimately was not able to satisfy all of the conditions precedent," a spokesperson for Carlyle said.

Earlier this week, Energean had said that its current dividend policy would stand irrespective of the deal's outcome.

Energean, with operations in eight countries across the Mediterranean and the UK North Sea, reported a rise in annual profit, but flagged asset impairment charges of $241 million relating to some assets in Egypt, Morocco and Greece.

In a post-earnings call on Thursday, Rigas said that the company had not initiated the deal for the sale of its assets, and is not looking for another buyer.

(Reporting by Anandita Mehrotra, Arunima Kumar and Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Rachna Uppal)