LONDON, March 22 - British utility Centrica will meet executives of Venture Production on Monday to discuss a takeover of the UK independent oil and gas company, several newspaper reported on Sunday.
On Wednesday Centrica, the owner of British Gas, spent 240 million pounds on a 22 percent stake in Venture Production and confirmed it is considering making a cash offer for the company.[ID:nLI493566] But the Aberdeen-based company, focused on the UK and Dutch sectors of the North Sea, is opposing the takeover in what CEO Mike Wagstaff called an "opportunistic" raid, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Wagstaff and chairman John Morgan are expected to insist on a much higher price on Monday than the 1.1 billion pound implied by the price paid by Centrica last week for the shares, the newspaper added.
Centrica is looking to take advantage of cheap oil and gas prices to buy new sources of supply in a bid to reduce price volatility, said the Mail on Sunday.
Venture Production declined to comment and Centrica was not immediately available for comment.
On Wednesday Centrica, the owner of British Gas, spent 240 million pounds on a 22 percent stake in Venture Production and confirmed it is considering making a cash offer for the company.[ID:nLI493566] But the Aberdeen-based company, focused on the UK and Dutch sectors of the North Sea, is opposing the takeover in what CEO Mike Wagstaff called an "opportunistic" raid, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Wagstaff and chairman John Morgan are expected to insist on a much higher price on Monday than the 1.1 billion pound implied by the price paid by Centrica last week for the shares, the newspaper added.
Centrica is looking to take advantage of cheap oil and gas prices to buy new sources of supply in a bid to reduce price volatility, said the Mail on Sunday.
Venture Production declined to comment and Centrica was not immediately available for comment.
