Blackbird Energy Inc. will acquire an indirect 10% minority interest in Stage Completions Inc., a Canadian technology and services company providing pinpoint multistage completions, for CA$3 million cash purchase price. Blackbird said on July 28 that it entered an agreement for the acquisition.

Stage’s technology, which it designs, owns, manufactures and patents, provides patented fracturing systems for sliding sleeve technology to the plug-and-perf market for horizontal, vertical, and multilateral wells in all formations.

Stage’s proprietary dissolvable ball and collet activated fracturing sliding sleeve systems designed for cased-hole and openhole applications will reduce costs for operators, Blackbird said.

There are sliding sleeve systems with a constant internal diameter, and a ball and collet can be reinstalled at a later date for refracking and restimulation.

Braun said that by using Stage’s proprietary sliding sleeve completion systems, Blackbird could have cost savings between CA$1.5 million and CA$2 million per Montney well compared to competing sliding sleeve and plug and perf technologies.

Blackbird said that the investment in Stage will be paid off through cost savings after using the technology in about 1.5 Montney wells. Blackbird is funding the transaction through cash on hand, and after the transaction closes will hold about CA$28.5 million in working capital.

The transaction remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval and the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

The transaction is also is a "related party transaction" as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions, as Garth Braun, Blackbird’s chairman, CEO and president, is also a director of Stage. Sean Campbell, who is a director of Blackbird, holds an indirect controlling interest in Stage, is also a director there, and is Stage’s president.