CALGARY 鈥� The leadership at private junior oilsands producer Osum Oil Sands Corp. say they will sell their shares after Waterous Energy Fund increased its bid by 25 per cent.
The target company says its independent board members and executive team have committed to tender their shares to the sweetened offer of $3, up from the initial $2.40.
Waterous, a Calgary investment firm established in 2017 and headed by CEO Adam Waterous, said it bought 45 per cent of the outstanding shares last July for $2.40 each from Osum's three largest shareholders.
It said in November it would launch a formal takeover bid to raise its ownership stake to 85 per cent by buying 52.5 million of Osum's remaining common shares, about 40 per cent of the total, for $2.40 per share or $126 million.
If the initial offer had succeeded, the fund said its intention would be to buy the rest of the shares within about three months.
Osum said an independent committee struck to review the initial offer found it undervalued the shares.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2021.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version erroneously said the company and its leadership endorsed the deal.
