Santos Moves Closer to $18.7 Billion Sale with Exclusive ADNOC Talks

Australia’s Santos has granted an ADNOC-led consortium six weeks of exclusive due diligence following a proposed $18.7 billion takeover. The offer includes participation from Carlyle and ADQ and would require 75% investor approval to proceed.

(Reuters) — Australia's Santos said on June 27 it had granted exclusive due diligence for a period of six weeks to an international consortium led by Abu Dhabi's National Oil Company (ADNOC), which had offered $18.7 billion for the gas producer.

ADNOC's investment arm XRG, along with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ) and private equity firm Carlyle, had offered $5.76 (A$8.89) per Santos share when the proposal was announced in mid-June.

At the time, the XRG consortium said it was negotiating to carry out due diligence with Santos on an exclusive basis before formalizing the offer which would need at least 75% support from Santos investors.

The consortium has also agreed to a confidentiality agreement with Santos, the Australian energy firm said.

XRG now stands on the cusp of a deal that would give it stakes in major operations across Australia and Papua New Guinea— pending regulatory approval.

Carlyle and XRG did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.