Soco abandons Ophir Energy takeover pursuit

Soco International, a London-listed oil and gas exploration and production company, has decided not to make an offer for Ophir Energy after its original all-share proposal was rejected in January.

Soco said on the 6^th March that it tabled a formal proposal to Ophir’s board regarding an all-share combination of Soco and Ophir on the 17^th January.

According to Soco, Ophir unanimously rejected its proposal on the 22^nd January.

“Soco has for some time believed that a combination with Ophir would create significant and long-term value for shareholders in both companies,” the company stated.

In light of Ophir’s subsequent announcement of a recommended all-cash offer of 55 pence from Medco in late January, Soco stated that a share-based combination with Ophir would ”currently be challenging to execute and so would represent an unacceptable level of risk for its shareholders.”

As a result, Soco confirmed that it would not make an offer for Ophir.

Source: Offshore Energy Today