The largest oil producer in the North Sea has reached an $11.2bn (£8.8bn) agreement to acquire a German rival in its latest moves to expand from its North Sea roots into a global oil and gas company.

Harbour Energy will buy the upstream assets of oil-and-gas producer Wintershall Dea from chemicals giant BASF and investor LetterOne, which was co-founded by sanctioned Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman.

The Telegraph has the story.

The deal will see Harbour’s operations expand across Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Libya and Algeria, as well as the company’s carbon dioxide capture and storage licences in Europe.

BASF, a majority shareholder in Wintershall Dea, will own 46.5pc of Harbour and will be entitled to nominate two non-executive directors to the latter’s board, as part of the deal. However, it has said it wants to exit the oil and gas industry and so will be disposing of those holdings over coming years

Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook said: “Today’s announcement marks Harbour’s fourth major acquisition and the most transformational step yet in our journey to build a uniquely positioned, large-scale, geographically diverse independent oil and gas company.”

She said that adding Wintershall’s assets would increase the company’s production, “extend our reserves life, and enhance our margins and cash flow, all supporting enhanced shareholder returns over the longer run”.

Shares in Harbour Energy have surged by 17pc.

Read the latest updates below.

5:16PM

Annabel’s owner Richard Caring explores sale of stake in Ivy restaurants chain

Richard Caring is plotting the sale of a stake in his Ivy restaurant empire, writes Daniel Woolfson:

The billionaire tycoon, who also owns the private member’s club Annabel’s, has hired bankers to explore options for The Ivy Collection, which runs a chain of 30 upmarket restaurants.

It is understood that talks with potential suitors are at an early stage, with no decision made over how much of Mr Caring’s hospitality empire could be sold.

Any potential deal could value The Ivy Collection at around £1bn, as first reported by Sky News.

Mr Caring, one of Britain’s best-known restaurateurs, has been dubbed “the King of Mayfair” based on his record of opening opulent, upscale restaurants, such as Sexy Fish, Scott’s and J Sheekey.

He moved into the restaurant sector in 2005 when he bought The Ivy and Caprice Holdings restaurant group.

After buying The Ivy, which was founded in 1917, Mr Caring opened a private members’ club which quickly became a haunt for celebrities visiting the capital, with the likes of Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Sting among its patrons.

Mr Caring’s Ivy empire has since expanded to 30 restaurants, which includes The Ivy Asia. Separately, he also owns a stake in casual dining chain Bill’s.

The most recent company filings for the parent group of The Ivy Collection show that the business recorded almost £303m of turnover in the year to January 2023.

Mr Caring and HSBC declined to comment.

05:11 PM GMT

Crisis deepens at Hipgnosis as board clashes with founder

The chairman of Hipgnosis has publicly clashed with founder Merck Mercuriadis as the crisis at the troubled music rights firm deepens. James Warrington reports:

Robert Naylor, who took over as chairman of Hipgnosis Songs Fund last month, has criticised Mr Mercuriadis and his investment advisers over “ongoing failures in the financial reporting and control process”.

In a statement today, Mr Naylor pointed to a contract drafting blunder that could have cost the company $21m (£16.6m). The contract has been amended but losses are still expected.

The chairman said shareholders had raised concerns about financial reporting issues at the firm, which comes after the company was last month forced to scrap its dividend.

Hipgnosis said that while it believes it has the financial headroom for next year, this was “qualified” by issues around reporting and controls.

Concerns over Mr Mercuriadis’s conflicts of interest were also raised on Thursday, something Mr Naylor said the company will look to address “in the coming months”.

The management spat comes as a slump in the music rights market sparks concerns about the value of Hipgnosis’s song catalogue, which includes hits by artists such as Justin Bieber, Blondie and Neil Young.

This uncertainty prompted the company to delay its results, which were scheduled to be released earlier this week.

Hipgnosis today said the value of its song portfolio has dropped by more than £200m since April to £2.1bn at the end of September.

But the board warned there was a high degree of uncertainty over this figure and urged investors to use it with caution.

Mr Naylor criticised Mr Mercuriadis for a lack of transparency over the valuation after the founder initially refused to give his opinion.

He also took aim at Mr Mercuruadis for refusing to publish their correspondence on the company’s website, citing confidentiality clauses.

Mr Naylor added: “On behalf of the board, I therefore urge the investment adviser to provide the board with their opinion as to the fair value of the company assets, without caveats, such that we can provide greater certainty and transparency to our shareholders.”

In a statement earlier this week, Mr Mercuriadis’s investment advisers said it would “continue to work in a constructive manner to support the interests of the company and its shareholders”.

Read the full story here.

Thanks to Net Zero Watch.