CALGARY – The gloves are off as
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. fights a hostile takeover bid by
Suncor Energy. The COS board pulls no punches, calling the Suncor bid “undervalued, opportunistic, exploitive.”
COS shareholders are strongly urged not to tender their shares. The company notes that the share value now being offered is far less than it was when Suncor made its first offer in March 2015. The current bid attempts to take advantage of slumping oil prices and undervalues COS shares that will rise when the oil price eventually rises. COS further alleges that Suncor is using insider information about the Syncrude joint venture (in which both companies have a share) to increase its control before certain matters are publically disclosed.
Suncor for its part argues that its offer gives COS shareholders superior returns over the last five years, with similar returns to come. Suncor has delivered 13 years of consecutive annual dividend increases, and returned $5.3 billion to shareholders through share buybacks. The assumption being that going forward, being a Suncor shareholder is better than being a COS shareholder. The final point made by Suncor is that it has enjoyed a 10% annual growth rate since 2012, while COS’s production has declined 5%.
Doubtless both sides in this endeavour will be saying more in coming days. Please get the details at
CdnOilSands.com and
Suncor.com.
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