CNOOC Near Unocal Counterbid

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China National Offshore Oil Corp. moved a step closer to making a counter-offer to trump Chevron Corp.’s $16 billion bid for Unocal Corp., the Financial Times reported.


CNOOC’s independent advisers, U.K. investment bank Rothschild, will probably persuade the company’s non-executive directors to back a plan to beat ChevronTexaco’s cash-and-shares offer for Unocal, FT said.


Support from the non-executive directors, who opposed a bid in April, would still require CNOOC to gain approval from at least two Chinese government agencies. Analysts expect Beijing will clear the bid, FT said.


CNOOC’s board, which will meet in the next two weeks to make a final decision, is expected to approve a bid, the South China Morning Post reported Friday, quoting unidentified sources. The newspaper said CNOOC was expected to offer a premium of up to 10 percent on Chevron’s offer as an inducement to Unocal’s shareholders.

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