The Santos Board received the conditional and non-binding proposal from Scepter on 20 October, days after the first cargo of LNG left the Santos GLNG Project on Curtis Island for Korea, to acquire all of Santos for a cash consideration of $A6.88 per share.
“The proposal is considered to be opportunistic in nature and does not reflect the fair underlying asset value of the company,” Santos said.
Santos has been advised by Scepter that it is a direct investment business whose stakeholders include a standing syndicate of ruling families, ultra-high-net-worth industrialists and sovereign wealth funds.
Meanwhile, Santos is continuing a strategic review of its activities, announced on 21 August 2015, and has said it will consider all proposals which deliver appropriate value and certainty for shareholders.
The review follows an 82 per cent drop in the company’s first half profits for 2015 at $A37 million, down from $A206 million in 2014.
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