China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC, 中國海洋石油) is on the verge of making a counterbid in an attempt to beat ChevronTexaco Corp's US$16 billion takeover offer for US oil major Unocal, reports said yesterday.
Independent advisers hired by CNOOC will meet next week to give their evaluation of the company's proposal for a counterbid and are expected to approve it, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation.
"The sense is that the independent advisers are beginning to draw their analysis to a close. It will be days rather than weeks before they wrap it up. It is likely to be neutral to positive on the deal," one person told the Financial Times.
Support from the non-executive directors, who opposed a bid for Unocal in April, would still require CNOOC to gain approval from at least two Chinese government agencies, the newspaper reported.
The South China Morning Post carried a similar report, quoting unnamed sources.
It said China's third-largest oil group was expected to offer a premium of up to 10 percent on Chevron's cash and shares offer as an inducement to Unocal shareholders.
CNOOC had secured financing from leading Chinese and foreign banks, and was in talks with several international investment firms on the possibility of them taking strategic stakes in the venture to take over Unocal, it said.
If the bid is successful, it would represent the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company, dwarfing the Lenovo Group's (聯想) US$1.25 billion takeover of IBM's global personal computer business.
CNOOC confirmed in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this month that it was considering launching a possible bid for Unocal.
It said a further announcement would be made "if and when appropriate".
If CNOOC were to go ahead with an attempt to take over Unocal, it would fit into a larger Chinese strategy of securing access to energy sources overseas.
Unocal has gas and oil reserves in Thailand, Indonesia and Central Asia.
The US giant has more than 6,000 employees, with most of its activities in Asia and North America. It has no refining or marketing operations.
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