KNOC, Sinopec competing for Addax takeover -sources
* Bids value Addax at more than $8 bln -sources
* Both sides currently in negotiations -sources
(Adds details, background, quotes)
By Joseph Chaney and Michael Flaherty
HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - Korea National Oil Co (KNOC) and China's Sinopec are competing for the takeover of Switzerland-based oil and gas explorer Addax Petroleum (AXC), sources said on Wednesday, with bids valuing the company at more than $8 billion, including debt.
Both KNOC, and Sinopec Group, the parent company of China's Sinopec Corp (600028), were negotiating with Addax, the sources said.
"KNOC has put in a bid for Addax -- for the whole company," a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
All sources declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter. A spokeswoman for Sinopec (0386)(SNP) said the company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Africa and Middle East-focused Addax Petroleum (AXC) -- with a market capitalisation of $6.1 billion -- has projects in Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, and exploration licenses in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
An acquisition by Sinopec or KNOC would fit with the two companies' strategy of securing energy assets to fuel their economies.
Addax has fields in West Africa, where Sinopec has interests, and in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, where KNOC is drilling for oil.
* Bids value Addax at more than $8 bln -sources
* Both sides currently in negotiations -sources
(Adds details, background, quotes)
By Joseph Chaney and Michael Flaherty
HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - Korea National Oil Co (KNOC) and China's Sinopec are competing for the takeover of Switzerland-based oil and gas explorer Addax Petroleum (AXC), sources said on Wednesday, with bids valuing the company at more than $8 billion, including debt.
Both KNOC, and Sinopec Group, the parent company of China's Sinopec Corp (600028), were negotiating with Addax, the sources said.
"KNOC has put in a bid for Addax -- for the whole company," a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
All sources declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter. A spokeswoman for Sinopec (0386)(SNP) said the company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Africa and Middle East-focused Addax Petroleum (AXC) -- with a market capitalisation of $6.1 billion -- has projects in Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, and exploration licenses in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
An acquisition by Sinopec or KNOC would fit with the two companies' strategy of securing energy assets to fuel their economies.
Addax has fields in West Africa, where Sinopec has interests, and in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, where KNOC is drilling for oil.
