Oil Search said the offer was not in the best interests of shareholders.
MELBOURNE: Oil Search rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Santos Ltd that valued the Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas producer at A$8.8 billion ($6.5 billion), the two companies said on Tuesday.
Oil Search said the offer was not in the best interests of shareholders, but its shares rose 7% after Santos said it still wanted to pursue talks to create a group that would rival Australia s top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum in market value.
The approach comes at a tricky time for Oil Search as it is searching for a new chief executive to replace Keiran Wulff, who quit on Monday following just 17 months in the job due to ill health and a whistleblower complaint. It also just put on hold a final decision on a $3 billion oil project in Alaska.
Oil Search Rejects $6 5B Takeover Offer from
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