Sinopec agrees to record takeover

Sinopec, the Chinese state-owned oil refiner, has agreed to acquire Canada’s Addax Petroleum for about C$8 billion (Dh25.63bn) in the largest foreign takeover by a Chinese company.

The board of Addax, which produces oil in west Africa and Iraqi Kurdistan, unanimously endorsed the C$52.50 per share offer, which was higher than analysts had expected,

Addax has been courted by several Asian suitors, and is understood to have received rival takeover bids from Korean National Oil Company and possibly two Indian firms, the state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries. Jean-Claude Gandur, the chief executive of Addax, said the deal would accelerate the company’s oil development and exploration plans.