Det Norske Buys Marathon’s Norwegian Assets for $2.7 Billion

Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA, controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, will buy Marathon Oil Corp.’s Norwegian business for $2.7 billion in a transformational deal that will boost output 14-fold and settle questions on funding.

Det Norske, 50 percent owned by Roekke’s Aker ASA, would add production of about 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2014, more than 13 times last year’s output, Chief Executive Officer Karl Johnny Hersvik said today in a presentation. It will pay $2.1 billion in cash excluding debt and other items.