Russia-focused oil company Imperial Energy Corp Plc said on Monday it had received a bid approach from a party it did not name but which industry sources identified as Indian state-controlled ONGC. Shares in Imperial Energy were up 22.8 percent at 947 pence at 0921 GMT, valuing the company at around 990 million pounds ($2 billion).
The sources, who are familiar with the situation, said Imperial would be unlikely to accept a bid below 12 pounds per share. Imperial gave no details in its statement, which it said was in response to press speculation, except to confirm an approach.
Earlier on Monday, the Times of India said on its website that ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Company Ltd) was in talks with Imperial about an alliance that could result in ONGC taking an equity stake in Imperial. An ONGC spokesman declined comment.
One dealer expressed doubt about whether the approach would lead to a deal. ONGC has been charged by the government with securing energy resources overseas to power India's booming economy but the company has not been as successful as Chinese rivals in closing deals.
Analysts at Merrill Lynch put their estimate of Imperial's net asset value at 1,700 pence/share. The oil producer said in November 2007 that Gazprombank, the banking arm of Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, had made an approach to buy a quarter of its stock at a discount to the market price but the talks ended without a deal.
Comments
Comments are closed.