Greek independent Energean has said a deal to sell its gas assets in Egypt, Italy and Croatia to US private equity fund Carlyle may collapse owing to incomplete government approvals.
Carlyle has still not received certain regulatory approvals from Italy and Egypt and has only three days left do so under the terms of the original agreement, Energean said. Energean said it has been unable to agree with Carlyle to extend the deadline beyond 20 March.
Carlyle had agreed to pay up to $945mn for the assets, which it expects to produce 47,000 b/d of oil equivalent.
The collapse of the deal would throw into doubt Carlyle's plan to set up a Mediterranean-focused exploration and production company led by ex-BP chief executive Tony Hayward.
For Energean, the deal was set to help pay down debt and focus its resources on Israel and Morocco. The company said it is still committed to closing the transaction.
