interesting article......

More aquistitions/mergers to come perhaps.

Cooper flags 'ugly' takeover tussle
3-October-08 by Adam Orlando

South-Perth based Cooper Energy Ltd today said its hostile takeover bid for Incremental Petroleum Ltd could become ugly if Incremental's board acts against its shareholders' wishes and refuses the unsolicited takeover offer.

Cooper Energy today released its bidder's statement detailing the offer, which includes a condition of a minimum acceptance of 90 per cent by Incremental shareholders.

Executive director and co-founder of Cooper Energy, Greg Hancock, said if the majority of Incremental shareholders voted in favour of the merger and the company's board maintained its refusal, the proposed deal could get dark.

"That doesn't mean hostility to the tune of bagging each other in the press, but it could become ugly," he told WA Business News.

Mr Hancock also flagged a future acquisition offensive as part of its strategy to grow the company to become a major global oil player.

"No, this won't be the last acquisition," he said.

"I think in WA there will be more rationalisation in the oil and gas sector and a lot more mergers with smaller companies as people come to grips with what's happening in the [global financial] market."

Brokerage Hartleys said the speculative buy "makes sense for both companies".

"We believe that both companies are highly undervalued and that the proposed deal has the potential to unlock some of this value by providing increased earnings, reserves, production, market capitalisation and most importantly, liquidity," Hartleys said in a statement.