Premier Oil denies talk of takeover
BRITISH oil company Premier was yesterday forced to deny it had been approached by the Korea National Oil Company (KNOC) about a takeover offer after shares shot up.
The North Sea-focused explorer played down takeover rumours yesterday, with a spokesperson saying: “If any approach had been made, we would have had to make an announcement to the market.”
A Sunday newspaper had reported that KNOC had held preliminary discussions with the Premier.
Shares opened up 13 per cent to a one-year high when the markets opened, but pared the gains to close up 3.45 per cent at £18.60.
The South Korean government has given KNOC a $6.5bn (£4.2bn) war chest to expand globally. The company bought Dana Petroleum for £1.87bn in September, and reports at the weekend said it is in talks with a number of British oil explorers.
Premier is due to issue a trading update this morning.