State-run Korea National Oil Corp made a hostile £1.67 billion ($2.6 billion) bid for British group Dana Petroleum, highlighting South Korea’s stronger resolve to secure energy assets overseas.
Korea gave KNOC a $6.5 billion warchest this year to compete with energy-hungry Asian state firms looking to secure supplies for their growing economies.
Chinese and other firms have so far outgunned KNOC, which explores and stores oil, in bigger M&A battles.
The biggest hostile bid by a South Korean firm came on Friday after management at Dana, a North Sea and Egypt-focused explorer, rejected KNOC’s 1,800 pence per share proposal earlier this month.
The Aberdeen-based explorer urged investors to take no action. Its shares closed up 6.1 percent at 1,798 pence.
Investors said that, with two months having passed since KNOC’s approach, Dana needed to quickly produce another bidder or other material reasons why the bid undervalued the company.
KNOC said it had secured non-binding letters of intent from investors representing 48.6 percent of Dana’s shares. The offer represented a 59 percent premium to Dana’s closing price on June 30, the day before news of KNOC’s approach.
