The stockholders of Unocal, a midsized American gas and oil company, had observed the worth of their stock rise since rumors of a takeover surfaced in 2005. Trading in the low US$40s at the start of the year, companies that are competing outbid each other, considering the per share price of Unocal above US$60 by mid-summer. International oil companies, have been facing low reserve replacement rates and flush with cash due to high petroleum costs sought to obtain strategic assets. Unocal's major natural gas reserves in Asia, combined with its expertise in deep water drilling, made it a particularly attractive target for CNOOC, China's state controlled oil company that was offshore. Though CNOOC trumped previous offers with an US$67 per share, all-cash deal, valued at US$18.5 billion, the company ran into stiff resistance from Washington and Wall Street.
PUBLICATION DATE: August 04, 2006 PRODUCT #: HKU588-PDF-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about GLOBAL BUSINESS
