Up in the air: Beach extends Drillsearch offer
Beach extends Drillsearch deadline
Australia’s Beach Petroleum has waived all conditions and extended the offer date in it’s A$50 million (US$37 million) takeover bid for compatriot Drillsearch Energy.
Beach will extend its offer until the close of business on 14 August from the original expiry date of 16 July.
The company also called upon Drillsearch to reveal its current cash balance.
“Despite its considerable cash burn, Drillsearch has failed to disclose an updated cash balance as at 30 June 2009,” Beach said today.
“In the interests of transparency, we call upon Drillsearch to disclose its current cash balance to its shareholders. A lot has happened over the past six months and it seems only fair that Drillsearch shareholders be given the full picture of their company’s finances, particularly in light of the tough market conditions,” Beach’s chairman Bob Kennedy said.
Beach first announced its takeover bid on 5 May offering Drillsearch’s shareholders one Beach share for every 27 shares they hold.
The announcement said the ratio was calculated on a three-month volume weighted average price basis for both Drillsearch and Beach, and represented a 20% premium to Drillsearch closing price of 2.5 Australian cents at the time.