Business news in brief: Melrose Resources | SIB | SSE | PointPark Properties

THE reverse takeover of oil driller Melrose Resources by Ireland’s Petroceltic was given the green light at a court hearing yesterday.

Shares in the Edinburgh-based firm were suspended from trading on Monday and the company’s main market listing will be cancelled tomorrow as Petroceltic takes its place on the Alternative Investment Market.

The deal, unveiled in August, valued Melrose at £165 million. Its shareholders will receive a special dividend of 4.7p per share within the next fortnight, taking the total being paid by Petroceltic to around £170.4m.

SIB helps Scots firms raise £9.6m

SCOTTISH companies have secured £9.6 million from banks, private investors and other funding sources in the last seven months, after tapping into “financial readiness” support from Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Investment Bank (SIB).

The bank said 232 companies have raised funding since April and are now aiming to raise a total of £96.2m over the next few years.

The SIB said there was a “range of funding options that are available for ambitious Scottish companies with the desire and capacity to grow”.

SSE pays £246m for Irish power plants

ENERGY giant SSE yesterday confirmed its acquisition of four small oil-fired plants in Ireland from Spanish firm Endesa for €308m (£246m), previously announced in June.

SSE added that the deal required a €53m sweetener for working capital and that it expected to incur a further €137m to complete construction of a gas turbine at Great Island, County Wexford.

It said the acquisition was a “positive step forward in delivering a balanced generation and supply business in Ireland”. Shares in SSE dipped 16p to 1,420p.

P3 listing helps fund £620m deal

WAREHOUSE owner and developer PointPark Properties plans to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, to raise £250 million to help fund the purchase of a property portfolio and reduce debt.

The firm, which has 46 warehouse properties across Europe, said it would use the proceeds of its offering towards the purchase of a €760.1m (£612m) property portfolio owned by Bahraini bank Arcapita and funds it manages. The rest of the acquisition will be funded by issuing Arcapita with a 15 per cent equity stake in PointPark, also known as P3.