Shell Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, on July 14 offered to buy Duvernay Oil Corp. for $5.9 billion to expand its North American natural gas holdings.
The $83 per share cash offer, backed by Duvernay's board of directors, represents a 36% premium over the Canadian company's average share price over the last 30 days.
Duvernay is an Alberta-based oil and gas company engaged in the exploration and development of natural gas and crude oil, focused mainly on the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta and Northeastern British Columbia. Duvernay owns some 450,000 acres (1,800 square kilometers) in the two large gas project areas, as well as processing and delivery infrastructure in both regions.
Shell, which has natural gas assets in Western Canada, Wyoming and Texas, has been building its acreage positions "for future growth."
"Duvernay could become a valuable part of the Shell portfolio, where we can add value through technology and scale," Shell's chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
