Crest Energy International is investing C$57 million to buy nearly 41 million shares of WesternZagros Resources Ltd. (TSXV:WZR), a Canadian junior energy company forcused on northern Iraq.
Crest, part of a Houston-based group, will pay $1.40 per share. That's a 10 per cent premium to the Friday closing price for WesternZagros on the TSX Venture Exchange.
After the transaction, Crest will own nearly 10 per cent of WesternZagros.
TAQA, a United Arab Emirates firm based in Abu Dhabi, has the right under a previous agreement to buy up to 10.14 million additional shares of WesternZagros at $1.40 each to maintain a 19.9 per cent share ownership stake.
WesternZagros also announced Tuesday that it has received $83 million from Gazprom Neft Middle East BV, under a production sharing contract. After a $27-million reconciliation with the Kurdistan Regional Government, WesternZagros retained $56 million from the payment.