Oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) has finally nabbed British-based Cove Energy PLC in a deal worth $1.8 billion. In late February shell made an offer of $1.58 billion for the firm, whose major asset is an 8.5% stake in a natural gas field offshore of Mozambique in East Africa that is 35.6%-owned and operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC). The field is believed to hold up to 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Shell is paying a 95.6% premium to the closing price on January 4th, the date on which Cove announced that the company would be sold. Thailand’s PTTEP PLC had topped Shell’s original bid for Cove with a bid of $1.8 billion, the same amount Shell has finally agreed to pay for Cove. PTTEP has indicated only that it is considering its options.
Under the terms of the deal, Cove may seek other bids, but must pay a break-up fee of about $18 million should it choose to accept one.
Paul Ausick
Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good
Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.