Report: Eni may bid for Unocal

Report: Eni may bid for Unocal

By MarketWatchLast Update: 1:24 AM ET March 14, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Italian oil company Eni SpA may be interested in bidding for Unocal Corp., according to a published report, setting the stage for a bidding war for the California oil and natural gas firm.
A story in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal early Monday citing people familiar with the matter reported Rome-based Eni (E: news, chart, profile) , which is 30 percent state owned, has yet to decide on a formal offer but has been studying Unocal in recent weeks.
See the story at WSJ.com.
Two weeks ago, ChevronTexaco (CVX: news, chart, profile) was reported to be weighing a bid for Unocal (UCL: news, chart, profile) , a move analysts said would help Chevron boost flagging reserves in key regions.
Unocal's market capitalization is now about $16.5 billion. Shares added almost 3 percent on Friday to close at $61.02. According to the Journal report, analysts have speculated that the final per-share price for Unocal could be much higher.
Representatives from Unocal and Eni could not be reached early Monday for comment on the report.
The Journal reported an Eni spokeswoman called talk of Unocal discussions "hypotheses from the market," saying that since Eni released its new strategic plan, many are speculating about how it will achieve its growth targets without a sizable acquisition. A Unocal spokesman declined to comment, according to the Journal.
Eni is the world's sixth-largest publicly owned oil-and-gas company by market value. U.S.-traded shares of Eni ended unchanged Friday at $132.90.