Adnoc-led group submits $19bn bid for Australia’s Santos

• Deal backed by Santos board
• Shares rise 15% after offer
• HQ will stay in Australia

A consortium led by a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has submitted a final non-binding offer of $18.7 billion to acquire Australian gas producer Santos.

The group, comprising XRG, Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ) and US private equity firm Carlyle, offered $5.76 per Santos share at a 28 percent premium to the Australian company’s closing price last Friday.

Santos shares rose 15 percent early Monday, recording their biggest intraday jump since April 2020, following the announcement.

The Adnoc unit pledged to maintain Santos’ headquarters in Adelaide.

The offer is backed by the Santos board, describing it as “in the best interests of Santos shareholders” and supporting the consortium’s request for confidential information to conduct due diligence, the Australian company said in a statement.

The latest offer follows two previous proposals made by the consortium in March at $5.04 and $5.42 per share.

“For Adnoc, this is in line with their aggressive growth plans,” Reuters reported quoting Kaushal Ramesh, vice president, gas and LNG research, at Rystad Energy.

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If the deal goes through, the consortium will have control of Santos’ assets, including the Gladstone and Darwin LNG facilities in Australia, interests in PNG LNG and the undeveloped Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea.

The bid aligns with XRG’s five-year strategy, launched earlier this month, to become a global energy investor.

The $80 billion company is targeting a total LNG capacity of 20 to 25 million tonnes per annum by 2035, positioning itself among the world’s top five gas and LNG companies.