FILE PHOTO: An area of the mile long Ekofisk oil and gas field development complex in the middle of the North Sea at a point two hundred miles from Norway, the British Isles, and Germany, REUTERS/Eon/Handout. Image used for illustrative purpose.
DNO, which is in partnership with Genel in the Tawke field in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, proposed 69 pence per share in cash in the bid
Prerna Bedi and Anushka Chourasia | Reuters News
Norwegian oil firm DNO DNO.OL said on Friday it had made a £202 million ($271.8 million) takeover bid for Kurdistan-focused rival Genel Energy GENL.L late last month but had been rejected.
Shares in Genel were up nearly 14% in London trade at 57 pence as of 0725 GMT, wiping off most of their 17% year-to-date losses.
Dealmaking among oil companies operating in the Middle East is gathering pace as a surge in oil prices since the onset of the Iran war has enabled some energy firms focused on the region to pursue mergers and acquisitions.
Separately on Friday, Israeli oil firm Ratio Petroleum RTPTp.TA raised its proposal to buy London-listed Pharos energyPHARP.L, which has major operations in Egypt, in a bidding war with Serica Energy SQZ.L.
DNO, which is in partnership with Genel in the Tawke field in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, made its bid on July 28, proposing to pay 69 pence per share in cash, a premium of over 38% to Genel’s last close.
Genel declined to comment on DNO’s proposal.
Genel itself had agreed in-principle in July to buy Egypt-focused Capricorn EnergyCNE.L in a $360 million all-cash deal, though other suitors for Capricorn are circling the firm.
DNO said its proposal for Genel was not conditional on the outcome of Genel’s pursuit of Capricorn Energy.
“(The proposal) provides certainty of value irrespective of the outcome of Genel’s offer for Capricorn… which, if unsuccessful, would leave Genel without the diversification it has long sought,” DNO said in a statement.
Oil firms operating in the Kurdish region have been grappling with tough operating conditions, including multiple production and export suspensions due to geopolitical tensions in the region that have lasted several years.
Genel holds a 25% working interest in the DNO-operated Tawke production-sharing contract.
($1 = 0.7433 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Anushka Chourasia in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Susan Fenton)
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