Ashmore Group acquires 49% of Philex Petroleum

Netherland-based Anatolian Property B.V., owned by funds managed by Ashmore Investment Management Ltd.,  has agreed to acquire 49 percent of Philex Petroleum Corp. for $5.92 million.

Ashmore Investment is one of the world’s leading investment managers dedicated to emerging markets. Last month, it offered to buy Saudi Aramco’s 40-percent stake in the country’s largest oil refiner Petro Corp. for $550 million.

Under the agreement, Anatolian will purchase 245 million shares of Philex Petroleum, a wholly-owned unit of Philex Mining Corp.

The deal is expected to be consummated on or before June 5, Philex Mining said.

Philex Petroleum was organized in December to serve as the vehicle for Philex’s investments in oil projects.  It has an authorized capital of P2 billion.

In March, Philex acquired almost 20 percent of Petroenergy Resources Corp., a publicly-listed company engaged in oil exploration and in providing technical services to other oil exploration firms in the Philippines. It has projects in various areas in the country and in Gabon, Africa.

Philex Mining said the acquisition would boost Philex Petroleum’s portfolio investment in oil exploration and production.

Last year, Philex Mining bought 10.8 percent of Texas-based Pitkin Petroleum Ltd. for a total of $5 million.

Pitkin is an oil and gas exploration company producing on a small-scale basis in Louisiana and has properties in Vietnam and Peru. It is scheduled to start drilling activities in Vietnam in 2009.

Philex Mining, the country’s biggest gold and copper producer, also owns Brixton Energy and Mining Corp., which is conducting pre-development activities in a coal property in Zamboanga.