Alberta asked to review Suncor bid for rival

EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A move to involve Alberta regulators in the $3.2 billion takeover launched by Suncor is a "smokescreen" hiding the low-ball offer, Canadian Oil Sands said.

Suncor last month offered what it said was a "financially compelling" unsolicited offer for rival Suncor, which responded by describing the bid as "undervalued, opportunistic and exploitive."

Crude oil prices are hurting the performance of most energy companies. In the United States, rival oil services companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes announced plans to join forces in an effort to work through the downturn.

Suncor said the Alberta Securities Commission will hold a hearing Nov. 26 to consider a shareholder rights plan adopted by Canadian Oil Sands, which is designed to prevent the takeover.

"We are asking the ASC to strike down the new rights plan so that COS shareholders can decide for themselves - and in a timely fashion - whether to tender their shares to our full and fair offer," Suncor President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams said in a statement.

Canadian Oil Sands, among the largest owners in the Syncrude joint venture production group in northern Alberta, said its expenses for the third quarter were down 62 percent to $63.5 million, though it still reported a net loss of $132 million.

Canadian Oil Sands said it was frustrated with the timing of the Suncor offer, noting it came during budget and spending considerations for the Syncrude project, of which Suncor is a minority stakeholder. Canadian Oil Sands holds a 37 percent stake in the project, among the largest of its kind.

"Suncor's application [to Alberta regulators] is a smokescreen intended to obscure the weakness of its offer," CEO Ryan Kubik said.

Kubik countered that, despite Suncor's pressure, the bid is highly conditional.