Apertura Energy targets Brazilian rig fleet in £25m Conterp deal as Venezuela strategy takes shape
Latin American oilfield services capacity is attracting acquisition interest from operators that want owned infrastructure in place before basin-level activity accelerates. Apertura Energy PLC (LON:VZLA) has agreed heads of terms…
Key takeaways
- Apertura Energy has agreed heads of terms to buy Brazilian oilfield services group Conterp for £25 million to support its push into Venezuelan oil and gas.
- Conterp owns 12 workover rigs, operates two drilling rigs, employs more than 600 people, and holds a signed forward work programme exceeding £100 million.
- The deal is priced at 5.5 times forecast 2026 adjusted EBITDA on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with consideration split evenly between cash and Apertura shares.
- Apertura plans to raise between £10 million and £30 million alongside the transaction to fund the cash leg and its Venezuelan asset programme.
- The transaction is a related-party deal because Apertura chairman Scott Gilbert and chief executive Greig Gilbert together control 50.8% of Conterp.
Latin American oilfield services capacity is attracting acquisition interest from operators that want owned infrastructure in place before basin-level activity accelerates. Apertura Energy PLC (LON:VZLA) has agreed heads of terms to buy Brazilian oilfield services group Conterp for £25 million, and plans to raise between £10 million and £30 million alongside the transaction to fund its push into Venezuelan oil and gas.
Conterp's asset base and financial profile
Conterp owns 12 workover rigs and operates two drilling rigs, with a workforce of more than 600 people. For the 12 months to June, the group posted unaudited revenue of £26.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of £3.9 million. Its signed forward work programme exceeds £100 million. That contracted backlog matters as much as the headline price: it gives the acquirer cash flow visibility before a single Venezuelan asset changes hands.
The deal is priced at 5.5 times forecast 2026 adjusted EBITDA on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Consideration splits evenly: half in cash, half in Apertura shares.
Venezuela and the capex read-through
Apertura has set out its reasoning plainly. Owning Conterp's rigs, workforce and operational systems reduces the group's reliance on third-party contractors as it moves to acquire and develop upstream assets in Venezuela. For an operator targeting that market, bringing rigs and crews in-house changes the risk profile of the development plan considerably.
The broader read-through sits with the oilfield services sector in Brazil. A deal at 5.5 times forward EBITDA, for a business carrying a nine-figure signed order book, sets one data point for how buyers are currently pricing Brazilian services assets when a frontier-market rationale is attached.
Related-party flag and the capital raise
The transaction is a related-party deal. Apertura chairman Scott Gilbert and chief executive Greig Gilbert together control 50.8% of Conterp. The overlap between management and vendor adds a governance question to the commercial one, and it will sit at the centre of any independent assessment of the terms.
On capital, Apertura is targeting a raise of between £10 million and £30 million. The floor covers the cash leg of the Conterp consideration and near-term working capital. The ceiling would position the enlarged group for a broader Venezuelan asset programme. The macro caveat is the one that follows any Latin American frontier play: the return on that capex cycle depends on an operating environment that sits well outside Apertura's control.
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