US Based Linden Energy Agrees to Acquire 50% Stake in Bulgaria's Largest Privately Owned Gas Company

SOFIA, Bulgaria, July 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Linden Energy, a U.S.-based energy development company, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 50% of Overgas Inc. AD, the first independent and the most experienced Bulgarian gas trader, as well as the largest privately owned gas company in the country.

In conjunction with the 3 Seas Initiative hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria, Linden Energy and Overgas Inc. AD have signed an agreement in which Linden will acquire 50% of Overgas Inc. AD. With Linden's prior commitment to utilize 10% of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline capacity, this agreement further solidifies Linden's investment portfolio in Bulgaria and will support new growth in the region's gas network development.

"The Linden team is very excited to continue our work in Bulgaria and the Balkans and I believe that Overgas is the perfect partner to expand from a leader in the Bulgarian gas market to a leader across the Balkan region," said Stephen Payne, President of Linden Energy. "In addition to our investment, Linden will take an active role in supporting Overgas' efforts to diversify the energy market in Bulgaria by adding other sources of natural gas, one possibility being U.S. LNG," continued Mr. Payne.

Svetoslav Ivanov, Executive Director of Overgas Inc. AD said "The 3 Seas Initiative aims to develop infrastructure in the territories of the participating states which encompasses the development of energy infrastructure, including gas. As Linden Energy joins the companies in the Overgas Group, it has the ambition to assist in implementing the ideas of Overgas Inc. AD for the development of the markets in the countries in the Western Balkans by ensuring the political and financial support needed for these projects. Our planned projects include exploring the possibility of building system interconnections in the region of the Western Balkans, and gasification of the urbanized territories in the Western Balkan countries."

Today's agreement will see Linden acquire a 50% stake in Overgas Inc. AD, Bulgaria's largest privately owned gas trading company. The shares were previously owned by Russia's Gazprom and were repurchased by Overgas in December 2020.

About Linden Energy
Linden Energy is a U.S. based, internationally focused energy development company. Founded in 2013 by Stephen Payne, Linden has projects under consideration in Europe, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Linden's founder, Stephen Payne, has a strong history in the international energy sector as he has negotiated over 27 MTPA of LNG sales, was instrumental in the development of several large LNG export projects in the United States, and several major international pipelines. Linden Energy is a 10% capacity holder in the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline since 2016.

About Overgas Group
Established in 1992, Overgas is the biggest Bulgarian private company in the natural gas sector and a leader in developing and providing infrastructure services in the field of gasification in particular. Overgas Group's main activities cover the whole chain of research and development, supply, distribution and sale of natural gas both on wholesale and retail level. Overgas Inc. AD is the biggest independent natural gas supplier and trader on the market. It is the first one to gain access to the infrastructure network paving the way to market liberalization. Part of Overgas Group is Overgas Mrezhi AD, Bulgaria's largest gas distribution company, which currently provides service to over 81,000 end customers. The distributor currently owns over 2,500km of pipeline inside Bulgaria with plans of rapid expansion in the near future.

Linden Energy Website: www.Linden.Energy
Overgas Website: www.overgas.bg

SOURCE Linden Energy