Australian gas producer Santos on Monday agreed to further extend the exclusivity period for an $18.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC)…
Australian gas producer Santos on Monday agreed to further extend the exclusivity period for an $18.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), and reported a better-than-feared 22% drop in first-half profit.
Its shares rose 1% after the company extended the due diligence period to September 19 to give the consortium led by ADNOC's investment arm XRG more time to finalize a binding offer.
The consortium last week flagged it would need extra time on top of its due diligence period to seek internal approvals for a bid.
Santos said "customary protections" would be included in any negotiations to protect the company's investors if the deal is further dragged out once an agreement is signed.
It declined to give any details on those inclusions. Large corporate buyouts typically involve break fees or "ticking fees" where the buyer may have to stump up more if there are delays.
"We're pleased with the progress we've made. We've worked well with the folks from XRG over the last few weeks," Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher told analysts on a conference call.
"Given that
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