CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Nov. 9, 2015) -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN UNITED STATES
Iona Energy Inc. ("Iona" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:INA), a Canadian independent oil & gas company with assets in the UK North Sea announces that it has today published a summons to a bondholders' meeting (the "Summons") to be held on November 16, 2015 to approve certain amendments (the "Amendments") to the terms of the restructuring of Iona (the "Restructuring") which was approved and agreed by the bondholders of Iona Energy Company (UK) plc (the "Bondholders") at a meeting on 6 August 2015 (and as subsequently amended).
Iona has made significant progress on implementing the Restructuring however, it has become clear that further time is required to finalise certain elements. In Iona's Q2 2015 results presentation (slide 7) available at www.ionaenergy.com, three key risks were highlighted with regard to the Restructuring:
- Oil price.
- Farm-in partner consent to the Orlando farm-out.
- Atlantic Petroleum's (Iona's 25% partner in the Orlando project) funding position.
Iona has sought to protect itself against oil price risks via amendments to the Bond agreement approved by the Bondholders on October 13, 2015, which provided the Company with additional working capital headroom to fund Orlando capital expenditures via deferral of the proposed US$24 million cash repayment to Bondholders upon completion of the Restructuring.
Despite significant progress with the farm-in partner, definitive documentation regarding the Orlando farm-out is not yet finalised and there remains uncertainty with Atlantic Petroleum's funding position. Accordingly, to facilitate completion of the conditions precedent to the Restructuring, Iona is proposing an extension of the Long Stop Date to complete the Restructuring from November 30, 2015 to January 15, 2016.
Approval of the Amendments is subject to a two thirds majority of Bondholders voting in favour.
Further details of the proposed Amendments are outlined in the Summons published today. The Summons can be found at the Company's website at www.ionaenergy.com.
The Restructuring and all its constituent transactions or arrangements are in agreed form but remain subject to negotiation and execution of final documentation.
The Company specifically draws the attention of shareholders and Bondholders to the Forward Looking Statements section of this release and to the Summons. In particular, the Company also draws attention to the consequences of not receiving a positive Bondholder vote at the forthcoming meeting and/or not implementing the various potential arrangements.
Additional information relating to the Company is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About Iona Energy:
Iona is an oil and gas company with assets in the United Kingdom's North Sea. www.ionaenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this announcement are forward-looking, including statements regarding the material terms, anticipated effects and anticipated timing of the Restructuring (including the proposed Amendments), and future business plans of Iona. When used in this announcement, the words "expects," "believes," "anticipate", "plans", "may", "will", "would", "should", "scheduled", "targeted", "estimated" and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are not promises or guarantees, are based on various assumptions by Iona's management, including assumptions regarding future contractual terms and anticipated timing which may be beyond Iona's control, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those suggested by any such statements, including without limitation, the risk that the business plans described in this announcement are changed as a result of new developments or information, the risk that the Amendments are not approved by the Bondholders, the risk that the Restructuring is not implemented for any reason, the risk that the final terms of the definitive agreements implementing the Restructuring (or portions thereof) are different than those anticipated, and the risk that the Restructuring is delayed or does not have the anticipated positive impact upon the Company. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Iona Energy Inc. expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based except as required by applicable securities laws.
There remains significant uncertainty with regard the implementation of the Restructuring. In the event that the Amendments are not approved by Bondholders by November 30, 2015 then the Company will likely default under the terms of the Bonds. In an event of default, Bondholders could require immediate repayment of the Bonds.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
