Russian Oil Major Takes Over Canadian Oil Firm

Canadian oil company Nelson Resources Ltd. is to be acquired by Russian energy giant Lukoil for $2 billion. The parties have signed a deal.

Nelson, a former Canadian gold company, now focused on oil and gas in central Asia. The company said that the transaction requires approval of at least 75% of current shareholders.

Four major shareholder groups, owning nearly 67% of the stock, have entered into lockup agreements with Lukoil to sell their shares.

The takeover proposal by wholly owned Lukoil Overseas, initially announced Oct. 3, was 13% below Nelson's pre-bid stock market value. Nelson has insisted that it remained committed to obtaining a ''fair offer'' for minority shareholders.
But during a conference call earlier this month, numerous shareholders expressed anger over the deal.

Another conference call for investors is set for next Monday and a special shareholders meeting to vote on the deal is expected to be held in late November.

''We are satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations with the Board of Directors of Nelson Resources Limited and major shareholders of the company, Lukoil Overseas' president Andrey Kuzyaev said in a release late Thursday.