South Africa's state pension fund said on Monday an investment which saw it agree to pay far more than the market value for a 30 percent stake in U.S.-listed Camac Energy was justified as it was made to fund acquisitions. "This money is going to purchase assets that they didn't own before. This is capital to fund the purchase of these assets," Dan Matjila, the chief investment officer of South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC), told Reuters after Camac listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.The PIC's purchase of a Camac stake has been criticised in the local media, including for overpaying.Houston-based Camac, which explores for oil and gas in Nigeria, Kenya and Gambia, has said the PIC investment would fund the purchase of the remaining 60 percent it does not already own in Nigeria's Oyo oil field.The PIC, which manages 1.4 trillion rand ($127 billion) of South African government employee retirement funds, on Friday justified the investment, saying that while the company was "low in capital" its "fundamentals were still sound."
CAMAC Energy Inc. (CAMAC) is engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas outside the United States, directly and through joint ventures. Shares of CAK traded higher by 12.26% or $0.0699/share to $0.64. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $0.45 and as high as $1.73. On average, 368807 shares of CAK exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 403100.
Source
