TORONTO, Dec. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Petroleum Corporation ("IPC" or the "Corporation") (TSX, Nasdaq Stockholm: IPCO) is pleased to announce that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has approved IPC's notice of intention to renew IPC’s normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB").
Under the NCIB, IPC is authorized to purchase, through the facilities of the TSX and/or Nasdaq Stockholm, or as otherwise permitted under Canadian securities laws, as and when considered advisable by IPC, up to 7,465,356 common shares in the capital of the Corporation (the "Common Shares"), representing approximately 6.2% of the 119,882,701 Common Shares outstanding as at November 29, 2024 (or 10% of IPC's "public float" (as defined in the TSX Company Manual) of 74,653,562 Common Shares as at November 29, 2024), over a period of twelve months commencing on December 5, 2024 and ending on December 4, 2025, or until such earlier date as the NCIB is completed or terminated by IPC.
The maximum number of Common Shares which can be purchased each day on Nasdaq Stockholm will be 25% of the average daily trading volume of the Common Shares for the 20 trading days preceding the date of purchase, subject to certain exceptions for block purchases. In addition, IPC will be limited to daily purchases of no more than 15,952 Common Shares on the TSX, being 25% of IPC's average daily TSX trading volume of 63,811 Common Shares during the six months ended November 30, 2024 (excluding purchases of Common Shares on the TSX by IPC under its previous NCIB), subject to certain exceptions for block purchases and other prescribed exemptions available under applicable Canadian securities laws. IPC currently does not hold any Common Shares in treasury.
In connection with the NCIB, IPC has entered into an automatic share purchase plan (the "ASPP") with its designated broker to allow IPC to repurchase Common Shares when it would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase Common Shares due to regulatory restrictions and customary self-imposed blackout periods. Pursuant to the ASPP, IPC may provide standard instructions during non-blackout periods to its designated broker, which instructions may not be varied or suspended during the blackout period. Outside of any blackout periods, Common Shares will be purchased in accordance with management's discretion. All purchases made under the ASPP will be included in computing the number of Common Shares purchased under the NCIB. The ASPP has been reviewed and pre-cleared by the TSX and may be terminated by IPC or its broker in accordance with its terms, or will terminate on the expiry of the NCIB.
Any Common Shares that IPC purchases under the NCIB will be purchased on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and/or Nasdaq Stockholm, or as otherwise permitted under Canadian securities laws, at the prevailing market price at the time of such purchase and in accordance with the applicable rules and policies of the TSX and Nasdaq Stockholm and applicable Canadian and Swedish securities laws. The actual number of Common Shares that will be purchased, and the timing of any such purchases, will be determined by IPC, subject to the limits imposed by the TSX, Nasdaq Stockholm and under applicable Canadian securities laws. There cannot be any assurances as to the number of Common Shares that will ultimately be acquired by IPC. Any Common Shares purchased by IPC under the NCIB will be cancelled.
IPC believes that the purchase of Common Shares for cancellation represents an effective use of IPC's capital, is in the best interest of IPC and is an efficient way to return value to IPC's shareholders.
IPC's previous normal course issuer bid for the purchase of up to 8,342,119 Common Shares, commenced on December 5, 2023 and was fully completed by November 15, 2024. The Common Shares acquired under IPC's previous normal course issuer bid were acquired for a weighted average price of CAD$17.01 per Common Share. Purchases were made through the facilities of the TSX and Nasdaq Stockholm, including pursuant to the previous automatic share purchase plan.
International Petroleum Corp. (IPC) is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a high quality portfolio of assets located in Canada, Malaysia and France, providing a solid foundation for organic and inorganic growth. IPC is a member of the Lundin Group of Companies. IPC is incorporated in Canada and IPC’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange under the symbol "IPCO".
The information was submitted for publication, through the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on December 3, 2024.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements and information which constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable securities legislation). Such statements and information (together, "forward-looking statements") relate to future events, including the Corporation's future performance, business prospects or opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, unless otherwise indicated. IPC does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, forecasts, guidance, budgets, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", “forecast”, "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "budget" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the commencement of the NCIB; the ability to IPC to acquire Common Shares under the NCIB, including the timing of any such purchases; and the return of value to IPC's shareholders as a result of the NCIB.
The forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by IPC, including expectations and assumptions concerning: prevailing commodity prices and currency exchange rates; applicable royalty rates and tax laws; interest rates; future well production rates and reserve and contingent resource volumes; operating costs; our ability to maintain our existing credit ratings; our ability to achieve our performance targets; the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals; the performance of existing wells; the success obtained in drilling new wells; anticipated timing and results of capital expenditures; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out planned activities; the timing, location and extent of future drilling operations; the successful completion of acquisitions and dispositions and that we will be able to implement our standards, controls, procedures and policies in respect of any acquisitions and realize the expected synergies on the anticipated timeline or at all; the benefits of acquisitions; the state of the economy and the exploration and production business in the jurisdictions in which IPC operates and globally; the availability and cost of financing, labour and services; our intention to complete share repurchases under our normal course issuer bid program, including the funding of such share repurchases, existing and future market conditions, including with respect to the price of our common shares, and compliance with respect to applicable limitations under securities laws and regulations and stock exchange policies; and the ability to market crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids successfully.
Although IPC believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because IPC can give no assurances that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to: general global economic, market and business conditions; the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to reserves, resources, production, revenues, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; commodity price fluctuations; interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations; marketing and transportation; loss of markets; environmental and climate-related risks; competition; innovation and cybersecurity risks related to our systems, including our costs of addressing or mitigating such risks; the ability to attract, engage and retain skilled employees; incorrect assessment of the value of acquisitions; failure to complete or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or dispositions; the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals; geopolitical conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia and the conflict in the Middle East, and their potential impact on, among other things, global market conditions; and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws, royalties and environmental regulations. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
Additional information on these and other factors that could affect IPC, or its operations or financial results, are included in IPC’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2023 (See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information", “Risks Factors” and "Reserves and Resources Advisory” therein), in the management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 (See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information", “Risks Factors” and "Reserves and Resources Advisory" therein) and other reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities, including previous financial reports, management’s discussion and analysis and material change reports, which may be accessed through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) or IPC's website (www.international-petroleum.com).
