Australia's Senex Energy backs sweetened $630 mln buyout offer from POSCO International (updated)

Posco International

08/11/2021 24:18

* POSCO's fourth proposed bid up 15% from first approach
    * Proposed bid 44% above Senex's share price on July 30
    * Billionaire Gina Rinehart looks to take stake in Senex  

 (Adds POSCO International background, gas field purchase)
    By Sonali Paul
    MELBOURNE, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Australian coal seam gas
producer Senex Energy Ltd  SXY.AX  said on Monday it would
recommend an A$852 million ($630 million) takeover offer from
POSCO International Corp, after the South Korean firm raised its
proposed bid for a third time.
    POSCO International, the trading arm of steel giant POSCO
 005490.KS , hiked its offer by 4.5% to A$4.60 a share after
reviewing Senex's books. The proposal was just above Friday's
close but 44% above Senex's price on July 30, when POSCO first
approached it with an offer of A$4.00 a share.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RD0GN
    POSCO International owns oil and gas stakes in Southeast
Asia and is looking to diversify with Senex's gas operations,
which supply Australia's tight east coast market and the
Gladstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project.
    It is attracted by Senex's strong growth prospects and
Australia in general, where parent POSCO has a stake in the Roy
Hill iron mine, majority owned by billionaire Gina Rinehart's
Hancock Prospecting, an external spokesperson said.
    Another arm of Rinehart's businesses, Hancock Energy, has
expressed interest in buying a stake in Senex if POSCO
International succeeds with its bid, Senex said.
    The latest offer from POSCO International includes a
proposed acquisition by Senex, announced on Monday, of some
undeveloped gas fields from Australia Pacific LNG for A$80
million.
    Those fields, next to Senex's Atlas field, will help Senex
expand Atlas gas production to 30 petajoules a year in 2024, up
from 18 PJ a year.
    Senex's shares rose 3.4% to A$4.61 a share after the
announcement.
    
($1 = 1.3517 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sonali Paul; additional reporting by Sameer
Manekar; editing by Richard Pullin)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))