BP, ADNOC Pause $2 Billion Stake Offer for Israel’s NewMed Energy

BP Plc (BP) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s $2 billion bid for 50% of NewMed Energy has been put on pause owing to the “uncertainty created by the external environment,” the Israeli company said in a statement on Wednesday.

NewMed Energy said that all parties have agreed to suspend discussions but that BP and ADNOC have reiterated their interest in the proposed transaction. “The process will remain suspended until such time as discussions resume or the process is terminated,” NewMed said.

BP and Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant announced their offer to buy half of the Tel Aviv-listed NewMed in March 2023, before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. At that time, diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE had been improving.

BP and ADNOC had offered to jointly purchase half of the Israeli offshore natural gas producer by acquiring 45% of NewMed’s free floating shares and an additional 5% owned by Israeli conglomerate Delek Group. The offer was for 12.05 ILS ($3.38) per share, which was a 72% premium above the pre-deal market price, valuing the entire company at about 14.1 billion ILS, or $3.96 billion.

In early October, a panel reviewing the offer reportedly had recommended increasing the asking price by over 10%, or roughly by $250 million. BP remained “very optimistic” about the deal, its head of gas and low carbon energy, Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, reportedly told investors at a BP strategy day in Denver days after the Oct. 7 attacks.