One of China Gas' suitors, ENN Energy, says it may enhance its takeover offer after its shareholders voted yesterday in support of the bid, which was also extended by a month.
With several other potential buyers joining the fray by raising their stakes in China Gas, which pushed up its share price, the offer by the consortium of ENN and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) is now seen as too low.
It offered HK$3.50 per share - a 20 per cent premium to the closing price before the unsolicited bid was announced in December.
Shares in China Gas closed at HK$3.92 yesterday.
'We are considering different options, [and raising the offer bid] is one of them,' Cheng Chak-ngok, executive director of ENN, said on the sidelines of the shareholders' meeting yesterday. Previously, a spokesman for the consortium said they did not intend to raise the offer price.
ENN and Sinopec made the US$2.2 billion takeover bid after it was approved by most ENN shareholders. It also met other preconditions - including approval from the Ministry of Commerce - under the mainland's anti-monopoly law.