Lukoil drops bid for Far
Russia's Lukoil has withdrawn its offer to buy Sydney-listed Far, a partner in the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) oil and gas project offshore Senegal, Far said on April 1.
Lukoil made its non-binding bid for Far, valued at $167mn, after a failed attempt to buy the Australian company's 14% stake in RSSD. Far announced earlier this year it had signed a sales and purchase agreement to transfer its interest in RSSD to Australia's Woodside, already an investor in the Senegalese project.
Far said today that the Lukoil bid "was not proceeding to a legally binding offer." The Australian firm will hold a shareholder meeting on April 15 to discuss the sale to Woodside, it said, noting that its directors continued to support that deal. It has also received a non-binding offer from private investment fund Remus Horizons. If Remus or another company makes a firm commitment to acquire Far's stake, "the directors will update shareholders accordingly and may reconsider their recommendation."