'ONGC close to sealing Imperial deal'

MUMBAI: The countdown has begun for ONGC���s $2.6-billion bid to acquire UK-listed Imperial Energy. The shareholders of Imperial have less than a day ��� 1 pm London standard time on Tuesday ��� to take a decision on the deal. ONGC can go ahead with the deal if it receives the go-ahead from 90% of Imperial���s shareholders.

ONGC officials are tight-lipped about the acceptance from Imperial shareholders. Reports in the UK media, however, suggest that ONGC is close to securing the minimum threshold of shareholder acceptances for acquiring Imperial Energy. A source close to the development told ET, ���If ONGC fails to receive 90% acceptance from Imperial shareholders by Tuesday, ONGC will not seek extension of the deadline as acquirers normally do.���



���Imperial has received a flurry of acceptances from shareholders in the past few days, in spite of the Christmas holiday, and expects to receive more today, the final full day of business available,��� the Financial Times reported on its website on Monday. The Imperial shares were trading up 6% at 1085 pence at LSE on Monday afternoon, while ONGC���s stock gained 2% on the BSE to close at 657.8 over the previous closing day. The ONGC stock has fallen 7% in the past one week and 5% in the last one month.

ONGC���s offer was made at a time when the international price of crude was hovering around $128 a barrel. It is quite a different scenario today with crude falling by over a third to around a $40. ONGC chairman RS Sharma has justified the Imperial deal with oil at $100 per barrel. ONGC sought time from the UK takeover panel to post the offer document to Imperial shareholders citing that it needed Indian government approval.

The UK take-over panel refused to grant time to ONGC as per the UK take-over rules. ONGC was then compelled to post the offer document to the Imperial shareholders after the Indian government gave the nod for it to proceed with the bid in a hurriedly called Cabinet meeting.