Aberdeen-based exploration firm Dana Petroleum has received a £1.87 billion hostile takeover offer from South Korea's state-owned oil company KNOC.
The offer is equivalent to £18 per share—59 per cent above Dana's share price of £11.51 prior to KNOC’s interest first being announced.
Dana’s board rejected approaches from KNOC earlier this month.
KNOC believes it has the support of several of Dana’s large institutional shareholders, with their backing likely to push its bid to a successful conclusion. Dana's board is said to have angered some of its biggest shareholders when it rejected KNOC’s earlier £1.7 billion approach.
Dana's largest investor is Schroders, which holds a 13 per cent stake. The London-based asset management company has reportedly urged Dana’s board to take any offers seriously and engage with KNOC.
Dana previously insisted that it would not open its books without a confidentiality agreement from KNOC. It also said the offer undervalued its assets.
KNOC plans to spend about $6 billion on acquisitions and projects this year to more than double output by 2012 as it competes with China and India for resources.
Dana, which focuses on the North Sea and Africa, said in March its probable reserves rose by 15 per cent to 223 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2009.
South Korea is the fourth biggest oil importer in Asia, after China, Japan and India.
