Oil and gas company Sterling Energy PLC said it would launch an open offer at 1.3 pence per share to raise about 20.6 million pounds ($34.60 million).

The offer price represents a discount of almost 70 percent to the company's Tuesday close of 4.33 pence.

The company said through the offer, shareholders could subscribe for two new shares for every nine shares held at the record date of Sept. 8.

Sterling Energy -- with interests in the Gulf of Mexico, Africa and the Middle East -- said it planned to launch the open offer following the sale of its U.S. assets, which will be bought by a non-U.S. buyer for an initial $90 million.

The sale is expected to complete in early December, and the company expects to close the offer prior to the year end. ($1=.5954 Pound) (Reporting by Purwa Naveen Raman in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva

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