Suncor Energy’s hostile takeover bid for Canadian Oil Sands

In Canada, Suncor Energy has been pressing its unsolicited CAN$4.5 billion bid for Canadian Oil Sands.

The Alberta Securities Commission has ruled that Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS) can stall a hostile takeover bid by Suncor Energy for a month.

Although this is less time than the company wanted to seek an alternative to Suncor's unwelcome bid, COS said yesterday that it is pleased with the decision.

"The ASC decision applies the reins to Suncor, who tried to stampede our shareholders," said COS chairman Donald Lowry.

COS put in place a new shareholder rights plan, also known as a poison pill defence, shortly after Suncor took its all-stock bid directly to investors on 5 October.

The plan would have given COS shareholders 120 days, or until early February, to decide on Suncor's offer.

Suncor has proposed to keep its bid open until Friday 4 December, threatening to walk away from the deal if the deadline was extended.

COS has said the Suncor offer is too low, opportunistic and exploitive and that the would-be buyer has resorted to "fearmongering" in its quest to snap up a bigger slice of the oilsands at a bargain price.

Both companies are partners in the Syncrude oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray — COS with 37% and Suncor with 12%. That means if Suncor is successful, it would own just under half of the mine.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Fasken Martineau, Edmonton Journal, CBC

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/01122015/suncor-energys-hostile-takeover-bid-for-canadian-oil-sands/