Energi Mega Persada secures approval for Rp 3.78t share sale

PT Energi Mega Persada (EMP), Indonesia's second biggest publicly-traded oil and gas producer, said its shareholder approved a plan to raise as much as Rp 3.78 trillion (US$387 million) by selling new shares to fund expansion, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.

EMP plans to buy PT Tunas Harapan Jaya and develop its oil and gas fields, President Director Christopher Newton said in a phone interview on Thursday. EMP will buy Tunas Harapan for about $300 million, he said.

"We expect to complete the sale sometimes in January," Newton said.

EMP plans to sell 4.9 billion new shares, offering 15 new shares for every 29 stocks held by shareholders, it said in an Oct.27 filing to the stock exchange.

EMP plans to spend $275 million developing fields in East Java province to raise their gas output almost four fold in three years, the company said on Nov.22.

EMP's shares were unchanged at Rp 740 at 4 p.m. local time close at the Jakarta Stock Exchange.(*)