A Middle Eastern consortium has withdrawn its $36.4 billion bid to acquire Australian oil and gas giant Santos, the decision announced by XRG, an investment vehicle for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
In a statement, XRG said, “A combination of factors, when considered collectively, have impacted the consortium’s assessment of its indicative offer.” The takeover bid, which began in March, had faced delays over the past two months, raising concerns about its completion.
The deal fell through a day before Santos’s 19th of September deadline for a binding takeover. The bid price had been trimmed to US$5.626 ($8.46) per share following the payment of an interim dividend by Santos.
Santos stated that it had expressed concerns to the consortium regarding the delays, adding that the XRG consortium would not agree to terms that protected the value of the potential transaction for Santos shareholders.
The exact reasons behind the consortium’s decision to step away remain unclear. XRG, led by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC and the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, required his approval for any deal.
Santos, headquartered in Adelaide, is Australia’s largest natural gas supplier and has a significant presence in Asia. In its full-year 2024 results, Santos reported a 31% decline in profit to US$439 million, with sales falling 5% to US$2.58 billion.
