Malaysia: Petronas to Continue Pursuit of Progress Energy Resources

Petronas has said that it has been in touch with the Canadian government regarding its proposed takeover of Progress Energy Resources. The Malaysian state-owned oil producer said that it is talking to the country’s industry minister in the hope of persuading it to grant it approval to proceed with the $5.2m deal. The talks come one week after the government rejected the bid to the surprise of investors on both sides. 

Petronas said on Monday that it will “make further submissions to (the minister) in order to obtain approval for the proposed transaction.”

According to Canadian regulatory rules Petronas has another 30 days to resubmit its offer, though officials did not provide any reason why they rejected the company’s first advance. While the Malaysian government has made clear that it wants the deal to go through, it has said that it will not be talking to the Canadian government about the deal prior to a final regulatory ruling.

Canadian regulators judge whether or not to approve a takeover by assessing whether or not the deal is likely to bring a net benefit to the country’s economy.