Harbour Energy Shares Jump on North Sea Acquisition Deal

Harbour Energy (LON: HBR) shares rose 5.5% on Friday after the company announced a $170 million agreement to acquire substantially all subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production, both currently in administration.

The stock remains down 18.3% year to date and 18.1% over the past 12 months.

Harbour said the acquisition would be funded through existing liquidity and described the move as “immediately materially accretive” to free cash flow. 

The deal is designed to strengthen the competitiveness and longevity of the company’s UK portfolio at a time of what it called “ongoing fiscal and regulatory challenges” in the North Sea.

The transaction is expected to add oil-weighted production of 20 kboepd and 35 million barrels of 2P reserves. It will lift Harbour’s interest in the operated Catcher field to 90 percent from 50 percent, improving what the firm called the “financial stability” of the joint venture. 

Harbour will also gain a 29.5 percent non-operated stake in the Kraken oil field, providing a new production base in the Northern North Sea.

Harbour expects both operational and financial synergies, including the integration of Waldorf’s non-operated portfolio and the release of an estimated $350 million in cash posted against decommissioning liabilities. 

The company also highlighted the benefit of acquiring Waldorf’s UK ring-fence tax losses.

Completion is anticipated in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and resolution of creditor claims.

Scott Barr, managing director of Harbour’s UK business, said the transaction “delivers immediate cash flow benefits” and “improves the long-term sustainability of our UK business… and the energy security it provides.”