In November last year, Beach and Impress (advised by Hardy Bowen) agreed to merge by way of a scheme of arrangement, whereby Beach would seek to acquire shares in Impress that it did not own for $0.0825 per share. The rationale behind the transaction was to increase Beach's exposure to highly prospective oil tenements in the Western Flank of the Cooper Basin.

Senex initially blocked the merger by increasing its share in Impress from 10 per cent to 20 per cent and publically stating it would not support the scheme. Beach responded to this by making an unconditional on-market cash offer for Impress at an increased price of $0.085 per share, valuing Impress at around $75 million.

Strong selling of Impress shares throughout the offer period saw Beach's share of Impress reach approximately 76 per cent before Senex agreed to the sell its shares in Impress on the day the offer closed.

This resulted in Beach closing the offer with 96 per cent of Impress, allowing it to now move to compulsory acquisition of the outstanding Impress shares.

The Pipers team that worked on all aspects of the merger was led by partners Gordon Grieve and Owen Keen.

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"The last few months have been an exciting time for Beach and Piper Alderman. There have been many ups and downs in the process but we are extremely pleased for Beach that the takeover has been successful. This certainly marks another milestone for the company and we're delighted to continue to be involved in the development and expansion of Beach," said Grieve.