Venture eyes up acquisitions
Oil company Venture Production touted the possibility of launching a field buying spree yesterday, as it fights off a $2bn (£1.6bn) hostile takeover bid from Centrica, as it announced a one per cent drop in first-half profits. Venture said that “large asset packages” may come onto the market in the coming year as the international oil majors readjust their portfolios. Venture said this would create opportunities for companies like itself, which have made businesses developing fields discarded by larger companies.