Samsung Unit Buys Texas Oil Company (APO, NOR, APC)

Korea’s Samsung C&T, the engineering and construction unit of Samsung Group, will pay about $780 million for Parallel Petroleum, a Texas-based company owned by Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO). Apollo has owned the company since 2009, when it paid $453 million to acquire it.

Parallel currently produces about 8,400 barrels/day from mature fields and its reserves total about 69 million barrels in west Texas, New Mexico, and in the Barnett shale gas play around Fort Worth.

Samsung C&T will own 90% of Parallel and the other 10% will be owned by Korea’s national oil company, known as KNOC. Samsung may allow other investors to buy into the company at a later date.

Apollo is selling Parallel in an effort to raise $1.5 billion for a new natural resources fund, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Apollo already holds a controlling interest in Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR).

The sale is the largest takeover so far by a Korean firm, although KNOC paid $1.55 billion in March for a 24% interest in Eagle Ford assets owned by Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC).