Canadian Oil Sands Attracts Interest

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/27/15) 
   By Chester Dawson 

CALGARY, Alberta -- More than two dozen potential suitors have expressed interest in making an offer for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., including four "highly credible parties," according to documents the company filed in an effort to thwart Suncor Energy Inc.'s hostile bid.

The interest by other parties may slow Suncor's momentum ahead of a Dec. 4 deadline it has set for a response to its all-stock bid -- currently worth about 4.47 billion Canadian dollars ($3.36 billion) -- for Canadian Oil Sands, the largest owner of the Syncrude oil-sands mining consortium.

Canadian Oil Sands last month rejected Suncor's bid as too low and asked securities authorities in its home province of Alberta to uphold a "poison pill" provision enacted after Suncor made its bid that gives shareholders at least 120 days to consider a takeover offer.

Suncor has cited a lack of competing offers as one reason why Canadian Oil Sands shareholders should accept its bid, which is 0.25 of a share for each Canadian Oil Sands share. The Alberta Securities Commission has scheduled two days of hearings starting Thursday to consider Canadian Oil Sands' effort to block that bid by ruling on its updated shareholder-rights plan.

As of Nov. 19, "four highly credible parties have executed confidentiality agreements" with Canadian Oil Sands for access to nonpublic information in preparation for possible bids, RBC Capital Markets Deputy Chairman R. Jamie Anderson said in an affidavit filed in support of Canadian Oil Sands. The potential suitors weren't identified.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 27, 2015 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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