- The increasingly bitter fight over Canadian Oil Sands' (OTCQX:COSWF) potential to attract bids to rival Suncor Energy’s (NYSE:SU) $4.3B hostile takeover offer led to tense exchanges at yesterday's Alberta Securities Commission hearing.
- A representative with J.P. Morgan, SU's advisor and supporting the company’s position that COSWF should not be allowed to change its shareholder rights plan in an attempt to fight off the takeover offer, said no one was likely to make a competing bid for COSWF.
- The rep said the possibility that Imperial Oil and its parent company Exxon Mobil, long rumored as suitors, was remote since neither had made an offer to date, even though either could do so quickly given IMO's ownership of 25% of Syncrude.
- The Canadian Oil Sands rep RBC, however, said 25 interested parties were reviewing the "opportunity," with four signing confidentiality agreements and "a good prospect" for at least one proposal.
- The Commission is expected to issue its decision on the COSWF shareholder rights plan before SU’s Dec. 4 deadline; if it rules in favor of COSWF, then shareholders would have until early April to make a decision if the SU bid is not withdrawn before then.