Coastal Energy Offers Seen for Thailand’s Offshore Oil: Real M&A

Coastal Energy Co., a Houston-based explorer for oil off Thailand’s shores, is enticing traders with the prospect of the energy industry’s next bidding war.

A director at Indonesia’s state-owned oil producer PT Pertamina said yesterday that the company sent a takeover proposal to major Coastal Energy shareholders. Because Coastal Energy operates mostly in the Gulf of Thailand, that nation’s state-controlled PTT Exploration & Production Pcl is among those that may mull an offer, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said.