Ithaca Energy Seen Turning Korean With 70% Deal Profit: Real M&A

Ithaca Energy Inc.’s shareholders are poised to secure a 70 percent windfall by enticing companies from Korea National Oil Corp. to EnQuest Plc with the promise of the cheapest oil in the North Sea.

Shares of Ithaca, which received a non-binding takeover proposal in January, surged to a four-year high last week after saying it had been approached by more potential buyers. The Calgary-based company still traded yesterday at 5.45 times estimates for earnings next year, less than 97 percent of comparable explorers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.