Deals
Cove Sparks Record Bids for Oil-Gas Explorer in Africa: Real M&A
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Traders are more convinced than ever that a bidding war for Cove Energy Plc will lead to the richest takeover premium on record for an oil and natural-gas explorer.
The owner of a stake in gas fields off Mozambique lured a sweetened offer of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) from PTT Exploration & Production Pcl in May that topped prior bids from Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Shares of Cove rose to a record 272 pence today, 13 percent above PTTEP’s proposal, indicating traders who profit from acquisitions anticipate the competition will escalate. It now trades higher above the offer price than any other pending acquisition in western Europe of at least $500 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.