Capricorn Energy, the Edinburgh-based oil and gas explorer launched by a former Scottish rugby international, has accepted a $360 million (£271m) cash offer from Genel Energy.
Genel is an oil producer whose portfolio includes production assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and exploration licences in Oman and Somaliland.
It said it aims to restart the payment of a regular dividend on the back of a strong balance sheet, diversified and resilient cash generation, and investment in new cash flows.
The Genel business is a resilient, cash-generative platform with significant unvalued potential. For the financial year ended 31 December 2025, it generated 17,520 bopd in working interest production, with an EBITDAX of $43 million (2024: $1 million). Its shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Shareholders in Capricorn will receive $4.74 per share, made up of $3.75 in cash and a special dividend of $0.99.
Capricorn announced in March it had received a number of unsolicited offers. The agreement with Genal comes just 24 hours after Capricorn announced a further extension to the deadline for Middle East firm Alamadiyaf al-Masiyyah to make a firm offer for the company.
The Edinburgh company was launched as Cairn Energy by Bill Gammell 30 years ago and developed a string of operations in the North Sea and India. In recent years it has focused on Egypt’s Western Desert, where it holds a portfolio of onshore development and production assets.
In May last year, it agreed with EGPC to consolidate eight of its 50:50 jointly owned concessions into a single, integrated licence with enhanced commercial terms, providing a platform for growth. On 30 March 2026, Capricorn announced that it had received formal parliamentary ratification of this agreement.
In addition to maximising value from its assets in Egypt, from 2023 onwards Capricorn has been focused on streamlining operations, reducing costs and has returned around $600m to shareholders.
It has a stated strategy to explore new opportunities in Egypt, the UK North Sea and the broader MENA region.
Commenting on the acquisition, Randy Neely, chief executive, said: “Since my appointment three years ago, the team has delivered strongly against our strategic priorities — returning approximately $600m to shareholders, reducing costs, and maximising value from our Egyptian asset base through the recently signed merged concession, establishing a sustainable long-term business.
“However, Capricorn requires greater scale to materially improve trading liquidity. We believe the transaction with Genel crystallises the value created by Capricorn while providing shareholders with a clear and efficient exit.”
Paul Weir, chief executive of Genel, said: “Today we announce a landmark transaction to acquire a leading oil and gas portfolio in Egypt — a move that delivers our strategic intent, reshapes our company’s growth trajectory, diversifies our portfolio of oil and gas fields and begins our role as a partner in Egypt’s energy future.
“The acquisition of Capricorn Energy and its portfolio brings high?quality assets, material reserves, and a talented local workforce that together create immediate scale and opportunity for further onward investment and growth.
“By applying our technical and operational capabilities to these assets, we will work with the operator to accelerate production optimisation, replace reserves, reduce unit costs, and capture significant near?term cash flow while preserving optionality for future development.”
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