Court delays China takeover of PetroKazakhstan

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2005

OTTAWA (AFP) — Shareholders of Canadian-traded PetroKazakhstan Inc. voted overwhelmingly in favour of a 4.18 billion US dollar takeover by China National Petroleum Corp. but a Canadian court put the deal on hold.

The offer, worth 55 US dollars per share, was backed by 99.04 percent of shareholders at a special meeting in the western Canadian city of Calgary, according to company chief executive Bernard Isautier.

The deal would help China to boost its search for foreign energy, albeit at a premium, after a previous failed bid by China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to buy Unocal Corporation of the United States for 18.5 billion US dollars.

"We are pleased that the shareholders have considered that the proposal was the right one. Looking back at the...