Santos says no discussions with Harbour Energy, rejects $7.2 billion takeover approach

Australian LNG player, Santos, confirmed it was not engaged in discussions with Harbour Energy regarding a potential takeover of the Australian company following several media reports.

The company noted on Thursday that it has not received a current proposal from Harbour Energy, a US investment firm led by Linda Cook who is a former top executive of LNG giant Royal Dutch Shell.

However, the company has said that earlier in August, it received a confidential, non-binding conditional and indicative proposal from Harbour Energy to acquire all the shares in Santos by way of a scheme of arrangement.

The indicative price was A$4.55 per share or about A$9.5 billion ($7.2 billion) in total.

“Santos’ board rejected the approach on the basis that the indicative price was inadequate and the sources of funds were uncertain,” the company said.

Santos added the company “receives a range of proposals from time to time and is at all times in compliance with its continuous disclosure obligations.”

Santos’ shares hit a 15-month high of A$4.97 on Thursday following the announcement.