Chinese companies Sinopec, or China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., and ENN Energy said late Thursday they have extended their bid for gas distributor China Gas Holdings by over a month to October 15.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the two companies said the long-stop date -- the deadline for pre-conditions set out in the indicative offer to be met, including government approval -- has been extended from September 6 to next month. This would be the fifth extension since March.
Both companies said on August 29 that they had extended their acquisition offer to within seven days of October 15 after they had been notified by the Hong Kong's Securities & Futures Commission to set a definitive deadline for their bid.
The two companies mounted an all-cash HK$3.50/share offer for China Gas in December last year in a deal valued at HK$16.7 billion ($2.2 billion). ENN has a 55% stake in the bidding joint venture while state-owned Sinopec has 45%.
The companies are still awaiting approvals from various Chinese regulatory bodies and ministries for the deal, including for applications to the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
China Gas has rejected the offer as too low and said its shareholders are against the acquisition as its shares have consistently traded higher than HK$3.50 for much of this year.
Its management last month said the company and its shareholders were frustrated by Sinopec and ENN's decision to press ahead with the deal even though it has "almost no chance of success."
