Fortune Oil to be bought by majority owners

The owner of a majority stake in Fortune Oil is buying the rest of the oil investment company for a sum valuing it at up to £388m.

Fortune said a consortium known as Fortune Dynasty, which owns about 57% of Fortune, was buying the other 43% via a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement.

Fortune Dynasty is a limited liability company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands 55% owned by First Level, a company owned by Fortune Oil directors Daniel Chiu and Dennis Chiu and 45% by Vitol Bermuda.

The independent Fortune Oil directors, advised by VSA Capital, said they considered the terms of the deal to be fair and reasonable.

Fortune Dynasty's chairman Daniel Chiu said: "In recent years, Fortune Oil has struggled to gain sufficient interest from investors to maintain a reasonable level of active trading in its shares. This has resulted in a disappointing performance for many shareholders, including myself.

"Since the disposal of the natural gas business in 2013, the divergence of interests amongst Fortune Oil shareholders has become increasingly apparent. Together with my consortium partners in Fortune Dynasty, we believe a cash offer at a substantial premium to the current share price is the best means of resolving these divergent interests."