San Leon secures fourth extension on Mart deal

San Leon Energy secured a fourth extension on its takeover of Mart Resources on Wednesday, citing administrative hold-ups as the reason behind the delays.

The AIM-traded company had initially announced its intention to acquire Mart Resources on 22 January, as well as an additional interest in MartWestern Energy, to facilitate its entry into the Nigerian onshore oil and gas market, in a deal worth $180m (£126.5m).

San Leon already agreed to extensions to its timeline on 18 February, 25 February and 2 March, and the parties had now mutually agreed that the purchase price should be placed into escrow on or before 21 March.

The firm's board confirmed that all other material terms of the agreement remained unchanged.

Additionally, vendor Midwestern Oil and Gas agreed to deposit $1m in cash with Mart as a deposit towards the obligation to pay the San Leon reverse break fee, should the arrangement not proceed.

San Leon Energy stated it had secured the funds for the transaction on 2 March, with Wednesday's extension required to allow sufficient time to complete administrative tasks associated with the transfer of the funds.