coe article on acq.. merger

Very supportive read for MOS holders. I particularly like the reference to "we are both in growth stages - we are oil and they are gas"
Mosaic Oil is our company's name so boy oh boy they must have some gas coming on line and no doubt MOS have some good acreage for oil exploration..... all bodes well for both COE and MOS please read on...
quote
"Cooper Energy Ltd taking strategic stake in Mosaic Oil
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25/01/2007 - Oil producer Cooper Energy Ltd has not ruled out making bid for Mosaic Oil Nl after taking a stake in the gas producer - although it insists a potential takeover would not be hostile.

Cooper Energy has spent $5 million on-market to take a 6.64 per cent stake.

Cooper Energy executive chairman Michael Scott said the company took the stake to allow for negotiations that could involve a possible merger.

"We've taken a 6.64 per cent holding under advice under our corporate adviser, basically so we can hold serious negotiations with these guys regarding a mutually beneficial way forward," he said.

"That mutually beneficial way forward may be, and if you look at the extremes of how that might happen, a farm-in, farm-out or technical assistance ... or, ultimately, a possible merger.

"We are very open to all discussions at this point in time, and we're definitely not making any hostile approaches at this stage."

Cooper Energy is active in the Cooper Basin in South Australia, Indonesia and Tunisia, and is expected to produce about 275,000 barrels of oil in 2006/07.

Mosaic has oil and gas production and exploration interests in Queensland, Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.

"Our companies are very similar and we just feel there might be some mutually beneficial synergies that we can discuss," Scott said.

"We've got acreage in the Cooper Basin, they have acreage in the Surat Basin; they are a gas company, we are an oil company, and we've both started making moves outside our foundation acreage.

"We've both started to take our first steps of growth.

"They have got acreage off in North West Shelf and Papua New Guinea and we've got acreage in Indonesia and Tunisia.

"We are open to all avenues of discussion at this point in time and we have not concluded a view."

Cooper Energy has acquired a total of 31.96 million shares on market at an average price of 16.1 cents.

Source: AAP NewsWire" END QUOTE