Italian oil giant ENI has agreed to buy Algeria-focused First Calgary Petroleum for C$923million (£494 million).

Based in Alberta and quoted on AIM and the Toronto exchange, First Calgary’s prime asset is abundant natural gas reserves in Algeria’s Berkine Basin. President and chief executive officer Shane O’Leary says the board is supporting the Italian offer, worth the equivalent of 191.5p a share, because it ‘delivers the highest value for First Calgary shareholders, compared with other strategic options’.

It certainly represents a hefty premium over last month’s 84.5p low – and 2002’s 52p AIM float price – and the shares have risen to 184p. But it is a fraction of the heady peaks reached in 2005, when Growth Company Investor suggested partial profit-taking.

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