Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), which has been on the prowl for potential acquisitions to expand its overseas upstream portfolio, has approached Turkmenistan-focused Dragon Oil with an offer for the remaining shares in the company it does not already own. Enoc said in a statement on 19 March that the approach, which was made on 15 March, does not constitute a firm offer under the takeover rules of the Irish stock exchange, where Dragon is listed.
Dragon confirmed the approach by Enoc and said it had set up a committee made up of four non-executive directors and two financial advisors to evaluate the proposal by Enoc “in relation to a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the Company it does not already own.” Enoc, which is owned by the Dubai government, has a 51.9% majority stake in Dragon oil and tried in 2009 to buy out the minority shareholders without success. (CONTINUED - 800 WORDS)
