|
Elf, Total move closer
|
 |
August 9, 1999: 7:57 a.m. ET
Elf chief raises hopes of friendly solution to $44B French oil battle
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - French oil stocks Elf Aquitaine and TotalFina jumped sharply in Paris trading Monday after a press report suggested they could put aside their differences and agree to a friendly merger.
TotalFina launched a surprise $44 billion takeover offer for Elf in early July, and Elf eventually responded with a counter offer for TotalFina.
Both stocks rose by about 4 percent on the Paris bourse on relief that an expensive bidding battle may not take place.
London's Financial Times reported Monday that Elf Chairman Philippe Jaffré held out the possibility of an olive leaf. He said that talks could be on a friendly basis if his Total counterpart, Thierry Desmarest, concedes there is a problem with the groups' chemicals operations.
TotalFina has proposed keeping chemicals activities with an enlarged group, while Elf's plan involves merging and then disposing of the chemicals units.
The newspaper reported that Jaffré would also like Desmarest to concede that Elf's plan would create greater shareholder value. Elf is claiming its plan will generate 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in synergies, while Total claims its proposal will drive synergies worth 1.2 billion euros.
Jaffré's comments are the first sign Elf may come around to friendly talks with Total. Elf reacted angrily at first to Total's offer, describing it as "hostile", and pointed out the two companies had been in periodic talks over a friendly combination when Total launched its surprise bid.
TotalFina refused to comment on the latest developments, but its board of directors is due to meet later Monday, when Jaffré's comments are sure to be discussed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
TotalFina
Elf Aquitaine
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
