Gulfsands rejects approach, source rules out ONGC

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Oil explorer Gulfsands Petroleum said it had rejected an unsolicited takeover approach on Friday, which a source familiar with the situation said was from an Indian company, but not ONGC.

Shares in the Syria-focused explorer surged 20% to an all-time high of 312.5 pence on Thursday after the company said it had received a preliminary takeover approach.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday the bid was from an Indian company, but that the bidder was not Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), India's state-run explorer, as some analysts had speculated.

Indian Oil Corp and Essar Oil, have actively sought acquisitions overseas in the past, while another Indian company, Reliance Energy, also has international interests.

London's Financial Times said in its Friday edition that the bid had been pitched at 350 pence per share, which the source said was accurate. At 350 pence per share, Gulfsands would be worth around 424 million pounds (USD 644.4 million).

Shares in Gulfsands were down by 2.2% to 305.8 pence at 0849 GMT.

($1=.6580 Pound)