Saffron Energy plc (“Saffron” or “the Company”) is an exploration oil and gas company with assets based in Italy.
The Public Company Advisory team originally acted as Nominated Adviser on the IPO of Saffron in February 2017. The IPO of Saffron involved the spin-off of a subsidiary of Po Valley Energy Limited, an ASX listed oil & gas company with assets based in Italy.
Following its IPO, Saffron caught the attention of members of the board of Sound Energy plc (“Sound”), an AIM quoted company with a market cap of c.£475m. They saw the potential of Saffron as a platform to develop an oil & gas exploration and production company in Italy with a South East Asia focused expansion strategy.
The acquisition of Sound Energy Holdings Limited (“SEHIL”), which was the holding company of Sound’s Italian oil & gas assets, provided Saffron, to be renamed Coro Energy plc, with further drill sites and facilities which will help the company grow. The acquisition of SEHIL will result in the Company becoming the owner and operator of a significant portfolio of production and development assets in Italy.
Our public company advisory team were engaged to act as the Company’s Nominated Adviser on the transaction.
The transaction provides a further demonstration of our independent Nomad model, as we continue to provide market leading regulatory and commercial advice to public and private companies seeking growth by way of an IPO or reverse takeover.
The Company is looking forward to developing its South East Asian growth strategy and this transaction demonstrates how AIM can be used as a growth platform for companies.
The Group was admitted to AIM on 9 April 2018 under the ticker CORO.
"Grant Thornton did an extraordinary job managing a very complex transaction between four listed companies in three different jurisdictions. This transaction has been transformational for Saffron/Coro Energy as it grows from a pure Italian production play to a leading, Europe and South East Asia-focused oil and gas explorer and producer. The team were a guiding light throughout and it is a testimony of the strength of Grant Thornton’s Nomad advisory capabilities."
Sara Edmonson CEO, Coro Energy plc
