ENOC secures support for Dragon Oil takeover with improved offer

It is understood that ENOC has no immediate plans to change its current offer.

The increase has secured support from minority shareholders in Dragon, including billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors UK which had rejected Enoc’s offer in June.

Dragon Oil plc, collectively with its subsidiaries, is engaged in upstream gas and oil exploration, development and manufacturing actions primarily in Turkmenistan.

Elliott and Baillie Gifford, which hold a combined 13.1 per cent stake in Dragon Oil, have accepted the new price, Enoc said.

ENOC said that it has also received notice of intended acceptances from an additional 2.3pc of the share capital of Dragon.

Enoc now owns 54 per cent of Dragon Oil, but needed more than 23 per cent of acceptances to delist the company and take it private.

The two companies have agreed terms and the takeover offer was due to close yesterday, but this has now been extended until August 28.

However, the move was met with opposition from some shareholders who said it undervalued the company.

Enoc is attempting for a second time in six years to buy out Dragon Oil’s minority shareholders. It had originally offer 735p a share in May. The company had said it was targeting annual production growth of about 10 per cent or more this year at 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

ENOC declined to comment on the extension when contacted by the Irish Independent.

Dragon Oil’s largest shareholder, Enoc, announced in June that it would buy the stock in the group which it does not already own for 750 pence a share, in a deal valuing the company at £3.7bn.

Baillie Gifford, the largest minority shareholder with just over 7 per cent, and which led the successful effort to block the buyout offer in 2009, has suggested that Enoc offer minority shareholders a “contingency payment note” that would pay them for upside gains at Cheleken.