Petronas to renew bid for Progress Energy
Malaysian state oil firm Petronas will renew a bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources, Petronas sources said, seeking to assure the Canadian government that the C$5.17 billion ($5.2 billion) deal will benefit the country.
Canada blocked Petronas' bid for Progress this month after Industry Minister Christian Paradis said it was not likely to bring a net benefit to the country. He gave Petronas 30 days to make additional representations to amend its bid.
The Canadian government, sources have told Reuters, wanted to approve the deal but was afraid that would tie its hands when reviewing a much more controversial $15.1 billion bid by China's CNOOC Ltd for Nexen Inc.
Two Petronas sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Monday that the firm agreed to the extension and was eager to complete the acquisition despite the shock decision by Canada.
The Petronas board agreed to the extension at a regular monthly meeting, the sources told Reuters. The Malaysian firm is also studying additional steps to reassure Canada that the proposed acquisition will meet the net benefit requirement, the sources said. Petronas will go all the way to secure this deal. It is important to Petronas that the deal is done, one of the sources said.
Spokespeople for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Paradis were not immediately available for comment.
Officials from Petronas and Progress held talks in Ottawa last week with Investment Canada, part of the country's industry ministry. Canadian officials are drawing up new guidelines for investment
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