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re: takeover rumours - more info Hardman may lure Indian bidders: ABN
BLOOMBERG
Posted online: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 1751 hours IST

SYDNEY, MARCH 28: Hardman resources, an Australia-based oil explorer and producer, may attract a takeover offer from a national energy company in India or China that is seeking to expand, Abn Amro holding said.

State-owned companies such as China National Petroleum Corp. Or India's oil & Natural gas corp. Are more likely to bid for Perth-based Hardman than publicly traded oil companies for which acquisitions have to meet stricter criteria for investment returns, ABN Amro said.

Hardman owns 19 percent of the Woodside petroleum ltd.-operated 720 million dollar Chinguetti Oil Project in Mauritania, which started production last month, as well as stakes in the Tiof, Tevet and Banda discoveries in the West African nation and in oil discoveries in Uganda. Woodside, which was Hardman's largest shareholder, sold its stake in the company.