I've just grabbed a few...not really any downside if you've got the funds lying around.
Here's the text from the AFR.
The record value that Aurora Oil & Gas attracted from Canada’s Baytex Energy may not have deterred rival bidders with speculation mounting that a counterbid to Baytex’s $4.10 a share offer is being prepared.
The obvious candidate is US company Marathon Oil, the operator of Aurora’s key Sugarloaf venture. Sources noted on Wednesday that Baytex chief executive James Bowzer’s prior connections with Marathon, where he headed up North American operations when Marathon bought into Sugarloaf, mean a deal between Marathon and Aurora may have been on the table previously.
Baytex’s $C2.6 billion offer for Aurora, including the target’s debt that it will take on, represents some $116,000 per acre of land, more than double typical deals in the area. It’s also believed Aurora‘s board spoke to Marathon before unanimously recommending Baytex’s offer.
That said, it would not be surprising if other players were to see the same value drivers in a takeover of Aurora as Baytex, and could use its land position as a beach-head to building a larger position in one of the US’s premium shale liquids regions.
Shares in Aurora rose 1 per cent to $4.16 on Wednesday.
