Business | Oil & Gas
Abu Dhabi's takeover of Scorpion in doubt
An Abu Dhabi firm's plan to acquire Norway-listed oilfield services group Scorpion Offshore has been cast in doubt by the death of Shaikh Nasser Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Oslo bourse said yesterday.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:12 August 25, 2008
Oslo: An Abu Dhabi firm's plan to acquire Norway-listed oilfield services group Scorpion Offshore has been cast in doubt by the death of Shaikh Nasser Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Oslo bourse said yesterday.
The UAE company Fortune Super Equity Management (FSEM) announced in February it aimed to acquire Scorpion Offshore, on condition that its offer of 80 crowns per share was accepted by shareholders with 90 per cent of the stock.
Yesterday, the Oslo stock exchange said FSEM had informed the bourse that it was reconsidering whether to make a bid after the death of Al Nahyan, who controlled FSEM for the royal family and died in a helicopter crash in June.
The bourse said it had not received any offer document from FSEM and asked the Abu Dhabi firm "to promptly clarify this uncertainty through an announcement to the market."
FSEM's bid for Scorpion Ofshore had been challenged by Norwegian oilfield services group Seadrill, which in April raised its stake in the oilfield services group to 36 per cent through a competing 80-crowns offer.
FSEM had said on June 19 that it still intended to pursue a bid for Scorpion and a final offer would be made "in due course."
Scorpion Offshore shares were down 1.5 per cent at 80 crowns by 1106 GMT, valuing the company at about $914 million.
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