SINOPEC has reportedly offered to buy London-listed Imperial Energy Corp, a Russia-focused oil and gas company, in a deal that could derail a rival bid from an Indian firm.
British media said yesterday that listed Sinopec Corp made an approach to Imperial last week and has been allowed to conduct due diligence on a formal offer.
A Sinopec Corp spokesman said the bidder would be the unlisted parent Sinopec Group rather than Sinopec Corp. Sinopec Group couldn't be reached for comment.
Imperial said last month that it received a 1,290-pence-a-share, or 1.3-billion-pound (US$2.56 billion) offer. Media has speculated it was from India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Imperial yesterday would only confirm that it had received another approach in relation to a possible cash offer, without identifying the bidder. Its shares surged as much as 9.59 percent to 1,177 pence early yesterday.
"There can be no certainty that any offer will ultimately be made for the company or as to the terms on which any such offer might be made," Imperial said.
The deal, if successful, would be the largest takeover of a United Kingdom-listed group by a Chinese company, the Financial Times said, adding that Sinopec had approached the Russian authorities about the viability of making an offer.
Imperial, founded in 2004, has operations in Russia and other nations in the former Soviet Union. The company produced more than 10,000 barrels of oil a day in December last year, and is aiming for 80,000 barrels by the end of 2011, according to its Website. The deal would also mark Sinopec's second major-investment in energy-resource-rich Russia.
Sinopec Group is a partner in the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas project with Russia's Rosneft. But China Oilfield Services Ltd early this year failed to buy control of Russian oil services firm STU, a unit of TNK-BP, in a relatively small deal at the final stage after it was rejected by the Russian government.
Sinopec lost 2.20 percent to 11.13 yuan (US$1.62) in Shanghai and fell 2.29 percent to HK$8.10 (US$1.04) in Hong Kong yesterday.