> http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200804020701443743R
http://www.imperialenergy.com
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200807040700042799Y




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cyril

this morning's tumble is surely just a reflection that Rosneft are strapped for cash and therefore are unable or unwilling to buy a stake in IEC.

however, i would ask if that really matters at all as surely ONGC are tied in to the deal provided that 90% of the current holders accept the deal ..... of course, if ONGC hold >10% themselves, then they could scupper the deal on their own, though whether that would be permitted is a moot point.

there is also a report that they may just go for 51% of the company see below

i think is gonna be jitters given all the chat, but hopefully IEC will get on the phones this week and drum up the 90%......


ONGC Videsh (OVL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is likely to pick up only 51% stake in Imperial Energy, if Imperial`s shareholders do not offer a minimum of 90% stake by December 30. Shares of ONGC closed down Rs 18.5, or 2.78%, at Rs 646**.

i would have thought that holders would be hammering on the doors to deliver their acceptances!

I can't think of any reason why IEC shareholders would not accept 1250p. It's a ludicrously good deal, given the current price of oil.
I received an e-mail from my broker informing me that they will accept on my behalf unless instructed otherwise, which is what presumably will happen with all private investors. The institutional investors must surely be grinning all the way to the bank???

More info/opinion for what it's worth:
"Tom Winnifrith. It is Tom who writes and takes responsibility for...
Apparently, 3.85% of Imperial Energy (IEC) is stuck in the middle of Lehmans and cannot be voted to assent for the VNGC takeover. It takes a lawyer to conjure up that result. But, if it indeed applies, the takeover of Imperial looks quite possibly dead in the water. Sauve qui peut."

Heavens !, that is a big problem, that leaves 90% out of 96.15%, very tight !.

check todays announcement concerning lehmans stake....As Lehman Brothers is being wound down, it is possible any shares it owns might not be tendered but the investment bank only held 0.01 percent of Imperial's share capital, Imperial said on Tuesday.

LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - "UK-listed oil explorer Imperial Energy said its agreed takeover by India's ONGC was not at risk because shares owned by collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers would not be tendered for sale.

ONGC has tried to delay its agreed 1.3 billion pound ($1.96 billion) bid for Imperial and sources close to Imperial believe the state-controlled company will back out of the deal if its condition of 90 percent acceptance is not met by the Dec. 30 deadline.

As Lehman Brothers is being wound down, it is possible any shares it owns might not be tendered but the investment bank only held 0.01 percent of Imperial's share capital, Imperial said on Tuesday.

Imperial added that speculation of a postal strike in the UK meant investors should accept the ONGC offer as soon as possible.

Normally, many investors withhold their shares until the last moment in case a rival buyer with a higher bid emerges."

lots of rumour and counter-rumour .... one would assume that IEC would be fully aware of Lehman's true holding, and of course if it were >3%, it would have been notifiable ...... of course, it is possible that Lehman's were holding as nominees or similar, but i have no ideas what the implications of that would be

What's your stance now then Cynic? I am tempted to hold until the bitter end now, unless the sp spikes near to 1200p, which I think is unlikely. It's a risk holding, but the reward if it goes ahead is probably worth it, imo.

Even if the bid fails, this is still going to be a great producer (if I can put it that way), the sp would plunge, followed by a terrific recovery later on.....loads of oil in the ground !.

i have increased my holdimng from the other day and always intended to trade some - which i shall do

Cynic, if you intend to trade some, does that mean you wont take up the offer until the last possible moment, im thinking of doing the same, is it safe to wait until end of this week before accepting offer?

i am in CFDs so it is not for me to assent or otherwise .... offer closes 30/12 from memory

good to see tracker funds now officially on board (real no brainer that one!), which makes the deal far more likely to succeed

any idea wht this means, reported yesterday 22/12/08

BNP Arbitrage:
Long holding: 6,501,223 shares +6.34%
CFD Short: 6,133,810 shares -5.98%.

Not a lot, looks like they have hedged a long position with a cfd short. Assuming the deal goes through they will presumably turn a decent profit. If for any reason it doesn\'t their loss (if any) is protected by the short position.

EK has officially changed his position from short IEC to long from 990p.
Also, those people who bought shares via a nominee a/c (i.e. Internet broker) have cast their dice as acceptance of the 1250p offer has been assumed & stock is now not tradeable. If the offer doesn\'t go through the stock is returned to accounts \'a few days later\' (according to my broker) which seemed a bit vague, but that was as accurate as I could get from them!

to pevent my whole position being frozen yesterday, i sold some more at 1030 leaving a moderate core ....... if the price slips back to say 1000, then may well buy back

It would be nice to make a profit on my account for a change, this seems to have been going on forever !.