China National Petroleum Corp. has agreed to buy Canada's Verenex Energy Inc, including its Libyan oil assets, in a deal worth $400 million
Chinese CNPC International Ltd. offered $7.97 per share, a 28 percent premium on the company's closing price Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Verenex's biggest asset is its 50 percent stake in the promising Area 47 oil field in northwest Libya, along with other assets in the vicinity.
The deal is the latest in a global buying spree by China, which has seen the voracious giant buy up stakes in resource companies around the world to secure supplies for its growing economy.
China Petrochemical and Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, in December closed its two-billion-dollar deal for Tanganyika Oil, which has oil fields in Syria.
CNPC's offer still has to be approved by the Libyan National Oil Corp. and Verenex shareholders owning at least two thirds of the outstanding shares, the Canadian company said.
Author:
Ksenia Kochneva
