China’s ENN to engage with Harbour Energy over $13.5bn Santos takeover bid

China’s ENN says it will engage with Harbour over the $13.5bn Santos bid and “cautiously consider” its rollover proposal.

Santos’ GLNG liquefied natural gas project in Queensland. (Supplied)

Santos’s biggest shareholder, ENN Energy Holdings, says it will engage with US private energy firm Harbour Energy over the $13.5 billion takeover bid for Santos and the suitor’s condition of keeping it on as an investor if the acquisition is successful.

ENN, in a statement to Bloomberg, said its board met on April 3 last week to consider Harbour’s $6.50 per share takeover offer for Santos (STO), which is conditional on due diligence and Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

The bid is also conditional on 15 to 20 per cent of the existing Santos shareholding rolling over their stock into what would become an unlisted Santos.

The condition is targeted at the Chinese, privately owned ENN, which holds 15 per cent of Santos in partnership with China’s Hony Capital and which says it wants to be a long-term investor in Santos.

The board will “cautiously consider” the rollover proposal, ENN said.

ENN said its operations team had been instructed to start talks with Harbour over the proposal.

Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Cook told The Australian last week that she had held introductory talks with ENN after Harbour’s initial approach to Santos was revealed in November.