Premier Oil has rebuffed two bid approaches from Ophir Energy; Premier advised by RBC Capital Market
Premier Oil has rejected two bid approaches from rival Ophir Energy, according to a Sunday Times report. The report cited a source close to Premier Oil who said the UK-listed exploration and production company had carefully considered a proposal, but rejected the offer as it was not considered a good fit strategically and not in shareholders’ best interests.
The report said Premier Oil’s board unanimously rejected Ophir’s latest approach, regarding an all-share deal, two weeks ago. It is not known whether the discussions will resume, the article added.
RBC Capital Markets was Premier Oil’s adviser on the Ophir bid, the item said.
Premier and Ophir have yet to comment, the report said. The two companies will probably issue a stock exchange announcement about the situation tomorrow, 28 April due to The Times article, according to the newspaper.
Ophir, an FTSE-250 oil company, made an informal approach to Premier soon after Premier disclosed that CEO Simon Lockett was leaving the company, the item continued.
Premier Oil’s market capitalisation currently stands at GBP 1.71bn (EUR 2.07bn).
Source Sunday Times