MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian oil giant LUKoil is ready to buy 100% shares of Canadian oil company PetroKazakhstan Inc. for the same price that had been offered by China's National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).
"LUKoil informed PetroKazakhstan Inc. that if an Alberta court [Canada] ruled against the [Chinese] takeover during the October 26 session, the company was ready to make a counteroffer for the same price and on the same conditions as the Chinese offer," a LUKoil statement said Tuesday.
The Alberta court had postponed its ruling on the Chinese takeover until October 26 because LUKoil had earlier appealed to the court to recognize its primary right to purchase a stake in Turgai-Petroleum, a joint venture of LUKoil and PetroKazakhstan.
According to LUKoil officials, the counteroffer would fully meet the interests of PetroKazakhstan shareholders because it envisioned a matching price but shorter terms and higher certainty compared with the CNPC offer.
PetroKazakhstan shareholders voted overwhelmingly October 18 in favor of a $4.2 billion takeover offer from CNPC, although the bid for the Calgary-based company, which produces and refines oil solely in Kazakhstan, still requires approval by an Alberta judge.
