Tethys Petroleum rallies as Olisol emerges as second suitor

Shares in Kazakhstan-focused Tethys Petroleum rallied as it acknowledged that Olisol Investment Group, a private company headquartered in Kazakhstan, has submitted a non-binding proposal to to the oil and gas firm, which is currently in takeover talks with Nostrum Oil & Gas.

Tethys said it is currently in a period of exclusivity with Nostrum and continues to negotiate the terms of a proposed offer and interim funding.

Olisol announced on Friday that it has submitted a non-binding proposal to Tethys. It proposed a CAD8m investment by way of a share subscription at 16 Canadian cents per share, after which CAD4m would be made available to Tethys.

Olisol said Tethys shareholders would also be offered an opportunity to sell some of their shares to Olisol at 16 cents a share.

Director Alexander Skripka said: "Our proposal provides additional equity to Tethys on attractive terms. It also allows shareholders to participate, either by investing alongside us or by effecting a partial exit. We look forward to entering into discussions with Tethys at the earliest possible moment.”

“We have worked alongside Tethys in Kazakhstan before and given our experience investing in the region, we are very familiar with both the obstacles Tethys faces and the opportunities and the opportunities available to it,” he added.

At 1113 BST, Tethys shares were up 35% at 5.55p.