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Court delays CNPC bid for PetroKazakhstan
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-10-20 13:40
OTTAWA - Shareholders of Canadian-traded PetroKazakhstan Inc. voted
overwhelmingly in favour of a US$4.18 billion takeover by China National
Petroleum Corp. but a Canadian court put the deal on hold.
PetroKazakhstan
chairman Bernard Isautier speaks to shareholders in Calgary about the sale
of the company on Tuesday, Oct. 18 2005. Shareholders of Canadian oil
company PetroKazakhstan Inc. on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a
$4.2 billion takeover offer from China National Petroleum Corp.
[AP] | The offer, worth US$55 per share, was
backed by 99.04 percent of shareholders at a special meeting in the western
Canadian city of Calgary, according to company chief executive Bernard Isautier.
The deal would help China to boost its search for foreign energy, albeit at a
premium, after a previous failed bid by China National Overseas Oil Corporation
(CNOOC) to buy Unocal Corporation of the United States for US$18.5 billion.
"We are pleased that the shareholders have considered that the proposal was
the right one. Looking back at the success of PetroKazakhstan, we are very proud
of what we have achieved," Isautier told reporters.
"You always have some mixed feelings when an adventure stops, but I think
this was the right thing to do -- it was in the best interests of the
shareholders so we are satisfied with the outcome."
The PetroKazakhstan sale still requires court approval. Late Tuesday, a
Canadian judge reserved a decision until October 26 after listening to four
hours of arguments from lawyers for Lukoil Overseas Kumkol B.V. of Russia and
PetroKazakhstan.
Lukoil aimed to block the purchase until its own claim to the
Lukoil-PetroKazakhstan joint-venture Turgai Petroleum is settled.
Lukoil said it had the right to buy its partner's stake in Turgai before CNPC
took over PetroKazakhstan. The case is before the Arbitration Institute of the
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
The 24.2 percent premium over PetroKazakhstan's share price in New York that
CNPC was willing to pay could have been prompted by the Unocal debacle,
according to observers.
But, CNPC itself was eager to signal that this deal was different from
CNOOC's take-over attempt.
"We have been involved in talks with PetroKazakhstan about the purchase for a
long time, and gradually worked out the successful bid," said Han Xuegong, a
veteran senior analyst with CNPC.
"(It's) not like CNOOC's sudden intrusion into the highly-China-sensitive US
energy market."
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