Verenex Energy, a Canada-based, oil and gas exploration and production company,has agreed to be acquired in full by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the Libyan sovereign wealth fund after the collapse of a deal reached with China.

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has agreed to pay C$7.09 a share for all of Verenex's outstanding shares, the company said. The offer is below China National Petroleum Corp's C$10-a-share deal which collapsed earlier.

The LIA is a sovereign wealth fund established in 2006 by the General People's Committee of Libya to manage Libya's surplus oil revenues. In commenting on the transaction, Mohamed Layas, Executive Director of the LIA, stated "the Libyan Investment Authority has assets of over US$65 billion and is pleased to add the Verenex business to its oil and gas portfolio".

(The Reuters story on the deal here. Their press release follows: