Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said it was sticking by its £1.67 billion (€2.03 billion) offer for Dana Petroleum after the British oil firm tried to squeeze out a higher bid with an independent valuation.
The state-run Korean company today ruled out improving its offer if Dana's board were to recommend its bid, crushing investor hopes that it would be persuaded to raise its bid slightly in order to secure the board's support.
It said its view on Dana's value had not been altered by Dana's defence document and its announcement of an acquisition of North Sea assets yesterday.
"KNOC's share offer of 1,800 pence per Dana Share is full and final and will not be increased save that KNOC reserves its right to increase the share offer if a competitive situation arises," the Korean firm said in a statement.
Shares in Dana closed at 1,809 pence yesterday. The fact that they closed at a price above the level of the 1,800 pence offer suggests investors were expecting a small increase in KNOC's bid.
KNOC, which has a $6.5 billion war chest to spend on cutting South Korea's dependence on imported oil, first approached Dana in June.
After its approach was rejected in August, the South Korean company took its offer straight to the company's investors and said in August it had received the backing of nearly 50 per cent of them.
Reuters