Toreador to exit Turkey, Hungary; will focus on France

Oct. 1, 2009
Toreador Resources Corp., Paris, has entered into two definitive agreements to sell separately its Turkish subsidiary, Toreador Turkey Ltd., and its Hungarian subsidiary, Toreador Hungary Ltd.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 1
-- Toreador Resources Corp., Paris, has entered into two definitive agreements to sell separately its Turkish subsidiary, Toreador Turkey Ltd., and its Hungarian subsidiary, Toreador Hungary Ltd.

The company’s Turkish unit will be purchased by private Norwegian energy company Tiway Oil for a total consideration of $10.6 million paid at closing, plus exploration success payments of up to $40 million plus contingent future net profit payments.

Toreador’s Hungarian unit, meanwhile, will be acquired by private Austrian company Rohol-Aufsuchungs AG for $5.8 million plus a contingent payment of $2.9 million to be paid upon post-transaction completion of agreements relating to certain assets of Toreador Hungary.

The Toreador Turkey transaction is expected to close on Oct. 7 and the Toreador Hungary deal has closed on Sept. 30.

Total combined cash proceeds upon closing of both deals will be $16.4 million (which excludes contingent future payments). Both transactions are subject to standard post-closing purchase price adjustments.

Craig McKenzie, Toreador president and chief exploration officer, said, “We expect that the proceeds of these transactions will enable us to continue repurchasing a portion of our convertible notes, and to continue delivering our corporate strategy to develop the low-risk conventional exploration of our French acreage and to plan our 'proof of concept' phase for the unconventional exploitation of the Paris basin oil shale.”