PETRONAS Rejection May Hamper CNOOC’s Acquisition of Nexen

Bloomberg reported that following Canada’s rejection of PETRONAS’ bid for Progress Energy Resources Corp. (TSX:PRQ), shares of Calgary’s Nexen Inc. (TSX:NXY) fell 4.4 percent, ending at C$24.04 in Toronto. Investors are concerned that CNOOC Ltd. (HKEX:0883), which wants to acquire Nexen, will also be turned down by Canada.

As quoted in the market news:

“The odds of the proposed acquisition by Cnooc getting approval have fallen,” Philip Skolnick, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Corp. in New York, wrote in a note e-mailed today. “We now give the deal over a 50 percent chance of closing versus our previous ‘high probability it closes’ view, with risk to the offering price.”

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.