Tuesday, August 02, 2005
LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document
LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)
August 3, 2005 Wednesday
London Edition 3
SECTION: FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 265 words
HEADLINE: CNOOC drops its Dollars 18.5bn Unocal bid
BYLINE: By FRANCESCO GUERRERA, JOE LEAHY and JAMES POLITI
DATELINE: HONG KONG and NEW YORK
BODY:
CNOOC yesterday dropped its Dollars 18.5bn (Pounds 10.45bn) bid for Unocal, ending the most ambitious takeover attempt by a Chinese company and leaving Chevron to buy the US energy group for about Dollars 17.6bn in cash and shares.
The end of CNOOC's eight-month quest casts doubt over the ability of Chinese companies to grow through foreign acquisitions in the face of potential political opposition.
CNOOC's exit means Unocal shareholders are virtually certain to vote for Chevron's offer of about Dollars 64 per share on August 10.
The state-controlled Chinese group blamed the political backlash in Congress for the collapse of its bid, which failed to win the approval of Unocal's board because it was regarded as riskier than Chevron's lower offer. However, analysts said CNOOC made strategic mistakes.
"They probably should have put in a higher offer and put some conditions on disposal of the North American assets," said one analyst with a US brokerage.
CNOOC's attack on US politicians could pave the way for retaliatory measures by the Chinese authorities against US companies seeking investments in China.
CNOOC said it would have raised its cash offer of Dollars 67 per Unocal share "but for the political environment in the US", where legislators saw the proposal as a covert attempt by the Chinese government to buy strategic energy assets and threatened to pass laws to block it.
CNOOC and its advisers, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, declined to comment yesterday.
Additional reporting by James Politi in New York {i)Editorial Comment, Page 14 CNOOC withdrawal, Page 22 www.ft.com/lex
LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2005
Financial Times (London, England)
August 3, 2005 Wednesday
London Edition 3
SECTION: FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 265 words
HEADLINE: CNOOC drops its Dollars 18.5bn Unocal bid
BYLINE: By FRANCESCO GUERRERA, JOE LEAHY and JAMES POLITI
DATELINE: HONG KONG and NEW YORK
BODY:
CNOOC yesterday dropped its Dollars 18.5bn (Pounds 10.45bn) bid for Unocal, ending the most ambitious takeover attempt by a Chinese company and leaving Chevron to buy the US energy group for about Dollars 17.6bn in cash and shares.
The end of CNOOC's eight-month quest casts doubt over the ability of Chinese companies to grow through foreign acquisitions in the face of potential political opposition.
CNOOC's exit means Unocal shareholders are virtually certain to vote for Chevron's offer of about Dollars 64 per share on August 10.
The state-controlled Chinese group blamed the political backlash in Congress for the collapse of its bid, which failed to win the approval of Unocal's board because it was regarded as riskier than Chevron's lower offer. However, analysts said CNOOC made strategic mistakes.
"They probably should have put in a higher offer and put some conditions on disposal of the North American assets," said one analyst with a US brokerage.
CNOOC's attack on US politicians could pave the way for retaliatory measures by the Chinese authorities against US companies seeking investments in China.
CNOOC said it would have raised its cash offer of Dollars 67 per Unocal share "but for the political environment in the US", where legislators saw the proposal as a covert attempt by the Chinese government to buy strategic energy assets and threatened to pass laws to block it.
CNOOC and its advisers, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, declined to comment yesterday.
Additional reporting by James Politi in New York {i)Editorial Comment, Page 14 CNOOC withdrawal, Page 22 www.ft.com/lex
LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2005
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