Two Chinese Firms Buy Cdn Energy Co's (why not the CPPIB?)

Cnooc Buys Nexen for in China’s Top Overseas Acquisition

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Bloomberg Online By Aibing Guo - Jul 23, 2012 8:16 AM ET

Excerpts:

Cnooc Ltd. (883) agreed to pay $15.1 billion in cash to acquire Canada’s Nexen Inc. (NXY) in the biggest overseas takeover by a Chinese company.

China’s largest offshore oil and gas explorer is paying $27.50 for each common share, a premium of 61 percent to Calgary-based Nexen’s closing price on July 20, according to its statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. Nexen’s board recommended the deal to its shareholders.

 Nexen will give Cnooc assets in Canada, the U.K., West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico that produced 207,000 barrels a day in the second quarter, boosting the Chinese company’s output by about 20 percent. The deal is a second attempt to buy a North American oil and gas producer after political opposition blocked Cnooc’s $19 billion for bid Unocal Corp. in 2005.

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" Canada has become a fertile area for Chinese oil producers seeking to add oil and gas reserves to meet demand in the world’s largest energy-consuming country. After today’s deal, Chinese companies will have spent $49 billion on buying Canadian fields and oil companies, according to Bloomberg data. In contrast, they’ve laid down just $3.5 billion in U.S. acquisitions.

Today’s deal will cement Cnooc’s position in Canada’s oil sands after last year’s $2.4 purchase of OPTI Canada Inc., Nexen’s partner in Alberta’s Long Lake project. After today’s deal, Cnooc will own all of Long Lake, which aims to produce 72,000 barrels a day using steam to heat the tar-like oil out of the sands.

The Canadian government reviews any foreign takeover worth more than C$330 million ($325 million) and is in the process of raising that threshold to an enterprise value of at least C$1 billion over the next four years, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said in May. "

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" In a separate deal, China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, will acquire a 49 percent stake in the U.K. unit of Canada’s Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) for $1.5 billion, the Beijing based company said in a statement today."

Cnooc Buys Nexen for in China’s Top Overseas Acquisition