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CNOOC says no plan to raise bid for Unocal
(Agencies/cri)
Updated: 2005-07-20 20:36
China's third largest oil producer CNOOC, said on Thursday it will not raise
its bid to take over the US oil company Unocal for the sake of protecting its
shareholders' interests.
Earlier on Wednesday, Unocal's board of directors recommended that
shareholders accept a 17 billion US dollar takeover offer by larger oil producer
Chevron Corporation.
CNOOC said in a statement that it regrets that Unocal did not take up
its offer and that it will continue to monitor the market.
CNOOC added that it considers its full-cash offer of US$67 per share is still
superior, even after Chevron raised its bid.
According to the latest news from the Unocal website, Chevron raised its
offer late on Tuesday to 63 US dollars per share made up of 40 percent in cash
and 60 percent in stock.
CNOOC last month proposed a merger with Unocal, offering 18.5 billion US
dollars in total for Unocal's shares.
Unocal board endorses
sweetened Chevron offer
Unocal's board of directors has endorsed
a sweetened, $17 billion takeover bid from Chevron, rejecting a higher offer
from a Chinese oil firm, CNOOC.
China National
Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) headquarters in Beijing. CNOOC insisted
that its bid for Unocal was the best. [AFP]
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The decision by Unocal's board late Tuesday could signal an end to the
CNOOC's bid for the Unocal Corp.
Chevron boosted its offer by $2 per share to $63 per share — or $17 billion
overall — shortly before the Unocal board met Tuesday night. CNOOC Ltd., an
affiliate of China National Offshore Oil Corp., has an $18.5 billion offer on
the table for the El Segundo-based company. Unocal's board had previously also
endorsed Chevron's lower offer over the higher CNOOC bid.
In a joint statement with Chevron, Unocal's board urged stockholders late
Tuesday to accept the amended bid at a shareholders' meeting scheduled for Aug.
10.
But a spokesman for China's third-largest oil company vowed early Wednesday
that CNOOC was not ready to drop out of the bidding war.
"The situation with us is that we have what we consider a clearly superior,
full-cash offer on the table, and it remains there," said CNOOC spokesman Ray
Bashford in Hong Kong. "We're willing to continue negotiations."
David J. O'Reilly, Chevron's chairman and chief executive officer, said the
revised bid was a "compelling transaction for Chevron stockholders" despite the
higher price tag.
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