POSCO International Pursues Acquisition of Australian Natural Gas Company Senex Energy

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] POSCO International has launched an acquisition of the Australian natural gas company Senex Energy.

On the 18th, POSCO International issued a clarification regarding foreign media reports about negotiations to acquire Senex Energy in Australia, stating, "We are in negotiations for a stake acquisition and have been granted exclusive negotiation rights until November 5," adding, "We are continuously reviewing this matter, but nothing has been finalized yet."

This announcement from POSCO International followed a Reuters report that Senex Energy had received an acquisition offer from POSCO International.

According to the report, POSCO International proposed a total acquisition price of 814.8 million Australian dollars (approximately 714.3 billion KRW), at 4.40 Australian dollars per share.

Senex Energy confirmed receiving the acquisition offer and explained, "The board believes that maintaining a relationship with POSCO International is in the best interest of shareholders and intends to evaluate all proposals related to this matter."

Reuters added that the acquisition price proposed by POSCO International is 15% higher than the closing price on the 15th and nearly 38% higher compared to that on the 1st of last month.

Senex Energy owns oil assets in the Cooper Basin in Australia and holds exploration rights for gas fields covering 70,000 km² in southern Australia and Queensland.

Regarding this, a POSCO International official stated, "It is true that during the process of investigating overseas companies for the acquisition of a new gas company, we are negotiating and conducting due diligence with Australian Senex, but it is still at the review stage and nothing has been finalized."