ENI SPA said Thursday that its November offer to buy shares in Australia's Petroz NL was "unconditional."
The bid is part of the Italian oil and gas company's strategy of expanding in Australia and Southeast Asia, while bolstering its position in the Timor Sea Bayu-Undan development.
Through its earlier $0.56/share (Aus.) takeover bid for Petroz�later bettered by Phillips Petroleum Co.'s offer of $0.70�ENI bought 11.86% of Petroz shares.
An existing pre-bid acceptance agreement signed by ENI's Australian subsidiary Agip Energy (Australia) Ltd. with the Guinness Peat Group for an extra 4.37% stake in Petroz would have been considered void if the oil company did not build on its original bid. ENI's offer is scheduled to close on Jan. 19.
British-Borneo Oil & Gas PLC, taken over by Eni last year, first secured a material interest in Petroz in 1998.