Ratio Petroleum Energy has raised its recommended offer for Pharos Energy (LSE:PHAR) to 32.8183p per share, trumping a rival bid from Serica Energy PLC (AIM:SQZ) and valuing the company at around £146.4 million.
The revised terms comprise 28.8183p in cash plus a 4p special dividend. Including the 0.9317p final dividend already paid to qualifying shareholders, the aggregate amount received would be 33.75p per share. Ratio’s new offer is 0.5% above the equivalent 32.6683p offered by Serica.
Pharos’s directors unanimously recommended the higher Ratio proposal and withdrew their backing for Serica’s offer. The company will therefore not proceed with a scheme document for the Serica transaction. Ratio has secured irrevocable undertakings covering around 41.76% of Pharos’s issued shares.
