A spokesperson for China National Offshore Oil
Company Ltd. (CNOOC) said in Beijing on Thursday that so far it has
no plan to modify its bid for US-based Unocal, contradicting
reports in that day's foreign media.
"So far, CNOOC's US$67 per share all cash offer has
not changed and remains in effect," he said, "With the
consideration of our shareholders' interests in mind, we will not
easily change the bid."
According to some media reports yesterday, CNOOC
was considering sweetening its bid with a pledge to sell all of
Unocal's American assets, including valuable drilling projects in
the Gulf of Mexico, to reduce opposition from US lawmakers.
"There have been many guesses about whether CNOOC
will sweeten its bid for Unocal, but we will not comment further on
them," said the spokesperson.
Unocal's board said late on Tuesday that it is
considering a revised offer from Chevron worth over US$17 billion
in cash and stock, less than CNOOC's US$18.5 billion all-cash
bid.
In a brief statement, Unocal and Chevron jointly
urged Unocal shareholders to accept the package at a vote scheduled
for August 10, and the board will not recommend CNOOC's plan.
"We have fully negotiated a merger agreement and
other transaction documents reflecting this proposal with Unocal
which we believe to be acceptable to them," the spokesperson told
Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.
"We regret that they have not yet embraced our
offer. We will continue to follow developments closely," he
said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2005)