Repsol revives talks for Talisman Energy, Bloomberg says

In a bid to boost its presence in North America, and undaunted by the recent drop in oil prices, Spanish oil major Repsol revived talks to acquire Calgary-based Talisman Energy.

Under discussion were various options, including the sale of a selection of assets or the entire Canadian outfit, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Nevertheless, although Talisman’s share price was off by approximately 60% since the end of August it still commanded a hefty price tag of $4bn, which might yet scupper any deal.

Declining output from the North Sea was seen as another possible obstacle, those same sources explained to the newswire.

Even so, activist investor Carl Icahn was understood to be piling the pressure on management for asset sales.

Year-to-date shares in Repsol had lost 1.6%, closing at €18.035 in Madrid trading on 8 December, with a market capitalisation of about $29.97bn.

Talisman finished the session down 6.51% at $C4.31 against the backdrop of a new five-year low in the price of West Texas crude, at $63.05.