Enoc ups its offer to seal Dragon Oil deal

Emirates National Oil Company has upped the ante to buy the remainder of Dragon Oil, valued at £1.7bn.

Shareholders of oil and gas explorer Dragon Oil will receive 750p per share, the company said in an announcement on Monday.

The offer valued Dragon Oil at £3.7b, and would be financed through Enoc’s existing cash resources.

The deal followed several unsuccessful approaches by Enoc to purchase the approximately 46% it did not own.

Enoc group chief executive Saif Al Falasi said the company improved its offer to 750p per share following a recommendation of Dragon Oil’s independent committee.

“We believe that Dragon Oil has now achieved as much as is possible through its existing upstream strategy,” he said.

Enoc, which is ultimately owned by the government of Dubai, said production is close to plateau at Dragon Oil’s sole producing asset, making the deal a good exit opportunity for minority shareholders.

Dragon Oil shares had risen 8.13% on Monday, at 724.50p.