TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd., Dallas, (Amex: TAT; Toronto Venture: TNP) plans to acquire Turkey-based Thrace Basin Natural Gas Turkiye Corp. and Pinnacle Turkey Inc. for US$161 million in cash and stock.

The company will pay $100 million in cash and issue 18.5 million shares valued at approximately $61.2 million.

The companies’ assets include approximately 600,000 net onshore acres and 360,000 net offshore acres in the Thrace Basin of Turkey. Production is approximately 25 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The assets also include oil-field service equipment and related assets, including five drilling rigs.

The deal will expand TransAtlantic inventory of shallow gas targets and offers deeper conventional and unconventional gas targets.

TransAtlantic plans to form a special purpose entity to complete the acquisition, with third party investors providing $100 million in funding toward the purchase price. Those investors would hold approximately 65% of current production and acreage of the acquired asset. TransAtlantic will hold the remaining 35%.

TransAtlantic chairman N. Malone Mitchell III says, “Over the past two decades Thrace Basin Natural Gas has built the most efficient operation I have seen. The acquisition of Thrace Basin Natural Gas and Pinnacle would be the final component in our Thrace Basin strategy. We would complete our presence in the Thrace Basin with additional acreage and an operational base on the southern flank of the basin.”

Offshore